Harry Potter and the Secrets of Hogwarts
by Takeda Lee
Summary: PostOotP: Harry's Hero Complex has, until now, worked in his favor. But what can he do when the whole world needs saving? What should be done when there is no clear division of light and dark, and lifelong enemies and allies refuse to remain that way...
1. Chapter 1: Heather

OK, FF.Net has decided that they do, in fact, hate me and all I stand for...  
  
Therefore, I was put on temp. probation fore a violation of FF.Net bilaws. probation for, get this :  
  
Placing a Disclaimer/chapter poll up.  
  
So, whatever the hell that is, I don't know, so I have to move the disclaimer here. So here it is:  
  
I don't own Harry Potter. I don't own crap. I only own what I own, and more than likely, the only things in here I own are the plot and the assorted OCs running rampant throughout. Oh, and the psychotic monkey that continually scratches me all on my back and scream insults at me when I try and think for myself...dammit, there it goes again!  
  
Well, hope you like SoH :)  
  
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Chapter 1: Summer Starts  
  
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Darkness was everywhere. That was all he saw, nothing more. Darkness so deep that it actually seemed to make the word darkness seem like an understatement. It was all-consuming, and was more than just something he saw. It was something he felt, something he could smell. He breathed it in, and it was closing around his heart. And then he felt it.   
  
He felt the light. It was strong, bright and powerful. And then it was visible. It was bright, powerful, and beautiful. It was a golden color that seemed to brighten everything, and seemed to scare the very darkness away. Golden so pure and gold that it was actually turning white. And as he willed himself to move closer to it, he did.  
  
And as soon as he got close enough to see what it was, he awoke.  
  
"Damn." he muttered to himself as he opened his eyes and glanced around his room. Everything was blurry so his hand immediately moved to his bedside table to find his glasses. He pulled them on and glanced around his room.  
  
"Same old same." he muttered to himself before he stood and headed over to his trunk. It was his first night sleeping back in the Dursleys' house since the last school year had ended. Since, "Sirius." he spoke softly. He then flung open his trunk. He reached in and grabbed a hold of almost every school book he had. He clicked on his bedside light and laid them out on the bed he had just been sleeping in and he hopped on, cracking several open and he began going through them.  
  
Hermione had been a help because of her knowledge of spells during the showdown that night Sirius had died. Neville because of his brute determination. And him, he had survived purely because Voldemort wanted him. He knew there were many a times where his size and his cowardice had saved his life. Running and ducking and dodging from curses that he should have known the counter to. Hermione, Ginny and Neville had all been physically hurt, and he had come out relatively unscathed, and he wanted none of that if ever anything were to happen again.  
  
For you see, Harry Potter, boy wizard, sole survivor of the Potter Clan, was alive because of his ability to run from problems. But now, now that his only family was gone, now that he was responsible for even more death, he would have none of it. He began flipping through books, reading up on every curse, jinx, spell, potion or anything else that could save his life.  
  
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Harry awoke the next morning to the banging on his door. He stood quickly and rushed over to the door and flung it open. Thanks to the threat of the Order of the Phoenix, the lock had been removed the moment he got back to the house, and had been moved to the inside. Seeing how reclusive Harry was acting, they figured he'd lock himself into the house anyway. Only thing was, they would have none of that. Dudley had, in all actuality, found it possible to grow even larger than he was before. He was, currently the size of an adolescent hippopotamus. And with this size, no matter how confusing that was, was a boost of confidence, and even, arrogance.   
  
Harry figured this out the moment he got home as Dudley could be seen talking to some girl down the street using very corny lines from American Television he had seen on some show.   
  
Harry overheard something about "Are your feet tired," and then the girl shaking her head. Dudley followed that up with something about running through his mind as Harry simply lugged his trunk in the house, shaking his head.  
  
Dudley was easily the must disgusting and vulgar person he had seen, ever, both inside and out, and Harry had little clue how he would ever think himself "too good" for certain girls, as he had said upon returning to the house with a fresh red hand-print across his over-inflated cheek.  
  
And because Dudley's size, and his apparent ability to be such a "playboy", the work he never did was apparently transferred over to Harry, who had been doing it forever anyways. Upon leaving his room to see who was knocking on the door, he was informed from the overgrown excuse for a boy that Harry was to help with the garden work, which needed to be completely re-done. Due to the threat of Moody and the Order, he would be paid, plus expenses needed for lunch breaks and supplies. And as this was said, Dudley turned and walked away.  
  
Harry stared at the spot the boy had been in not too long before and his jaw fell in shock. "What the hell is going on?" He asked no one in particular, as Dudley had sounded civil and actually pretty nice in Dudley standards and had only seemed rushed because he had informed his parents that he needed to go somewhere with his friends.  
  
"well, better get to work." Harry muttered to himself before putting his books away and showering for the day and heading down to fix a quick breakfast for himself.  
  
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Harry was outside working by 9:30. Seemed the Dursleys had decided it time for a second income in the house to deal with their mass expenses. "All the damn food those two huge human refrigerators pack in." Harry muttered .So consequently Petunia went and got some call-in customer support service job. A wonderful job for her in Harry's opinion, getting to tell people what they have done wrong and how to fix it. She did it all the time, might as well get paid for it.  
  
Because of this and Dudley's apparent "activities" with the opposite sex, Harry was home alone. All the better for him.  
  
He decided to work on the front yard first. He grabbed the hedge-clippers, the spade, the shovel, and the large bag of planting soil. He lugged al of that out to the front of the house and over to his Aunt's front-yard garden that was much smaller than the one in the backyard, but housed the more delicate flowers. Her way to ensure that no one was too close to the house.  
  
So Harry kneeled down and began to weed the front of the garden before pruning the delicate flowers. He was being extra-careful of the roses, decided to stay away from them for a while, as they had been left idle for a long while and had grown into a mass bundle of deadly-looking barbs and deceitfully beautiful petals. So, decided to do them last, Harry stood and grabbed the large hedge-clippers.  
  
By the time he was part way done with the first large hedge, the sun was directly overhead, and beating down mercilessly on his back. It did not help much that he was wearing a black oversized t-shirt that seemed to trap the heat inside and double its severity.  
  
So deciding it was much too hot and that he could do with a tan, Harry pulled off the t-shirt and because of its size he was able to tie it around his waist easily. After doing that he continued with the work. And because of the way he was positioned as he cut the hedges, he was able to watch the display occurring at the moment across the street.  
  
Seems Dudley wanted a bit off revenge for the girl slapping him the night before, and as said girl was walking down the street, Dudley and his gang crept up behind her. It was odd how it worked, but for a group of humongous creatures, when they needed to, they were as silent as striking panthers.  
  
Harry was confused for a moment as Dudley rushed ahead and stood in front of her. He stopped cutting and moved closer so he could listen.  
  
"Hello again Baby." A big cheesy smile from Dudley came with this statement. Literally, as whatever type of cheese the boy had been eating was visible in his teeth even from Harry's position. Harry turned and faked a retch before turning back. The girl had replied with something and Dudley made a motion and suddenly Piers and another boy came and lifted the girl from behind and they carried her across the street and past Harry and into the Dursley's backyard.  
  
Harry stood, completely shocked. And then he heard a scream that knocked him out of his shock. He crabbed the shovel and held the hedge clippers in his other hand as he ran back. And there on the ground in the backyard, the girl was being held down as Dudley attempted to remove her clothing. She was struggling to the point that he was unable to get much off outside of her shoes and was working on ripping off her shirt.  
  
Harry's jaw fell once more, but he knew he had to do something as Dudley raised his hand and laid a solid hit to her jaw. It almost knocked the girl out with the weight behind the hit, but she stayed just barely conscious. And that was when something in Harry snapped. And the things that happened next were very unexpected and very interesting had anyone seen it. For in the next instance, a small, slightly thin-slightly muscular boy, barely 5' 5" and maybe 100 lbs. Attacked three boys, average height of 5' 9" and average weight of about 220 lbs.  
  
And won.  
  
Harry rushed forward and came to Piers. He slammed the bottom of the shovel into the boy's nose and then slammed the handle into his oversized gut. A cough of blood and Harry's work boot to the side of his head and he was out of it.  
  
Sadly neither boy seemed to notice, for, if they could be as silent as striking panthers, then Harry was as silent as a swooping owl, and the noise that should have been, wasn't.  
  
So that was how Harry was able to get behind the other boy holding the girl down and slam the metal scoop of the shovel into the back of his head. The metal piece broke off and Harry slammed the wooden handle over his knee, cracking the wooden staff in half and then smacking the boy over and over again with both as he attempted to continue to rise. Eventually he was knocked out as well. And that was when Harry saw it. The most disgusting thing he had ever seen.  
  
Dudley had taken advantage of the girl's weakened state and had gotten her shirt off and her pants were half way off. He had taken off his huge button-up shirt and was topless and the rolls of fat were too numerous to count. He was in the process of undoing his fly. Harry rushed over and scooped up his other tool that he had brought with him and held them read and open.  
  
"You pull it out and I cut it off." Harry stated and Dudley looked up at him and then at the hedge clippers in perfect position to castrate him. He whimper and Harry pulled one hand back and sent a hard punch to Dudley's face. And it could have been his lack of eating and such, but his attack was so much stronger because of his bony hand. Dudley's face received a long thin cut and Harry shouted. "Damn that hurt!" He massaged his hand and then looked down at the girl. She was conscious, barely. He took the shirt he wrapped around his waist and put it on the girl.   
  
She was fairly small seeing as she seemed about his age, and she was light. At least she seemed like that as Harry lifted her up and carried her to the front of the house. He opened the door to the Dursley's house and laid her down on the couch. He made to move but she clutched his arm. She had tears running down her face and such, so he smiled lightly and went back. He sat down and pulled her so she was half laying on his lap as she cried. He held up his hand to try and get to the phone, but it was just out of his reach, and as he tried to lift her head up to move and get the phone, she stirred and made a slight moan so he stopped. She wrapped her arms around his arm and seemed to sleep, but the slight sound of her crying was still heard.  
  
The cordless was just out of his reach and he held his hand out trying to reach it but it was just too far. He looked over, watching to see if she was sleep when he felt the phone in his hand. He smiled slightly and dialed the number to the police, reporting everything that happened.  
  
He could hear the sirens soon enough and he carried her out of the house. It seemed Dudley, Piers and the other boy were steadily making their was out of the backyard when the police cars spun around the corner and the ambulance arrived.  
  
Harry carried her to the ambulance, but when he tried to release her to the paramedics, she clung to his neck harder so Harry had to get in the ambulance and ride with her.  
  
And hours later Harry walked from the hospital, looking around at the night sky. They had held the girl there that long to make sure no emotional damage was sustained, and she had made sure every so often that Harry as there. She had yet to speak to him, but something in the way she looked at him told him she needed him to be there when she left. So that was why Harry was walking from the hospital. She had been released to her mother and older brother and was heading home.  
  
And as he stepped out into the night air he pulled up the hood on the hooded sweatshirt he had purchased in the hospital gift shop with the expense money his aunt had left him for that day. He thanked every power above that the sweatshirt was a white color, seeing as how it was night time and he was wearing black pants and all he needed was to end up back at the same hospital for being hit by a car.  
  
He found out from the police when they came to inform the girl's family of what was to happen to Dudley's gang, that they would all have to go through a hearing to see if time was needed, but at the very least they would have to go to some kind of correctional institution. And Harry smiled as he realized the irony. Seems "delinquent" Harry was the hero and "perfect" Dudley would be the one going to St. Brutus'. A small laugh escaped Harry's throat before he realized he had a good 8 mile walk back to Privet Dr. ahead of him, so he pulled the strings to tighten the hood around his head before he began to walk from the hospital.  
  
What he figured was a good half-mile into the walk he heard it. The sound every single person out at that moment dreaded. The sound of thunder. The sound of an oncoming London storm. Which meant he had to find shelter before the rain came. Which meant he had…no time. And as he thought this, the rain began to fall in sheets. So, sighing to himself, he trudged on, glad for the hood keeping his glasses protected from the heavy downpour just enough so he could see one foot in front of him instead of only about 5 inches.  
  
And then he heard a shout. "Hey you!" And normally he wouldn't have turned around, but a natural sense Harry had that informed him how many people were around him in potentially dangerous situations like walking around the city ion a stormy night, told him no one else was round him. So he turned and saw a cream-colored BMW with someone inside shouting toward him. "Hey you!"  
  
Harry turned all the way around and came closer to the car. Close enough to be seen and to barely see the person talking, but far enough to not be grabbed and kidnapped. "Yes?"  
  
"Need a ride?" And then Harry recognized the voice. It was the girl's older brother. He had arrived after they had been at the hospital for about an hour with a look caught between concern for his sister and murderous intent toward Dudley and Friends. He had been panicked and half strangled Harry asking where she was.  
  
"No, its okay I don't wanna be a burden or anything. I'm fine. Its not that far."  
  
And then the mom spoke up. "Nonsense. There is no burden. You saved our daughter at great personal risk, and you are headed in the same direction anyway aren't you?" Harry nodded and realized he wasn't going to get away from them without taking a ride. So he nodded and climbed in, apologizing profusely for being wet and sitting on the leather seats in the car. "Don't worry about it, its fine." was the answer from the girl's mother. And then Harry realized he had of yet not asked the girl her name. He looked next to him and found her asleep, wrapped in a blanket. He smiled softly.  
  
Soon enough they were pulling into Privet Drive. "Now what house is it dear?" The girl's mother asked.  
  
"Its okay, I can walk from here, just drop me off at the corner."  
  
"Not in this weather. Plus, I would like to come in an tell your parents what a fine young man they have raised and his wonderful morals. Now what house please."  
  
"Number 4 ma'am." Harry replied, his head lowered. The woman's jaw dropped.  
  
"Isn't that where that bigger boy lived…" the girl's older brother muttered to his mother.  
  
"Yes it is. He is my cousin. I live with them after my parents died. I'm sorry for what my cousin did and everything, but I don't think that the Dursleys would appreciate any complimenting of me, they don't particularly care for me. I'm sorry again." and before they could say anything Harry opened the door, left the car and walked over to Number 4. He checked the door to find it locked. So he went around to check the back. It too was locked. So he tried one more time at the front and knocked finally. And to the door came Vernon.  
  
"What do you want you treacherous bastard? You will not be coming into my house now nor ever I am sorry to tell you, for you have passed your disgusting habits like a contagious disease. I bet you used your abnormality to make Dudley do those things. I will have none of that in my house!" And with that the door slammed on Harry's face, the door knocked somehow flying up and hitting the boy in the eye. He brought his hand up and covered it to feel blood. He sighed and sat down on the front porch under the covering on the porch, slightly shielded from the rain, holding his bloody eye. And as he did he was unaware that a car of three people had just watched this display in complete and utter shock and horror.  
  
"Mom, what are we going to do. We have to help him."  
  
"I don't known baby, I really don't know." The mother answered as they watched Harry. He sat there for a moment before he disappeared around the back of the house for a second. He returned soon after and with a towel. He held it to his eye, which was bleeding kind of badly, but he held it there for a moment. Soon the white towel was a faded red color. He then walked over to a criss-cross wooden wall planter that had the roses climbing up it. He got half-way up, almost to an open window when suddenly the light came on in the window. Harry stopped for a second and didn't move but a sneeze from the boy alerted whoever was in the room and the large boy called Dudley looked out and down to see Harry. He scowled and then pushed the wooden planted. Harry fell and fell back into the rose bushes. And with the white sweater he was wearing, the three people in the car watching could clearly see the cuts he received as dots of blood covered the white sweater, mixing with the mud he had fell in.  
  
And finally the boy in the car opened the door and grabbed Harry in his arms. The mother drove just down the street, flinging open the door just in time as the older boy carrying Harry ran through the door and they laid the boy down on a towel set up by the girl in the living room. The sweatshirt was pulled off to show numerous cuts and slices on the boy's back and many other bruises and such.  
  
"He needs some help. Robby, run upstairs and get the first-aid kit." The boy ran up and came back moments later with a red box with a large white cross on "+" on it. And soon enough Harry was patched up as well as possible.  
  
"This was one crazy day." Robby said, looking from Harry to his sister, who had fallen asleep next to the boy, his head in her lap much the way she had been not many hours before after he saved her.  
  
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Harry awoke the next morning to find himself in a very unfamiliar place. He looked around only to still not see anything he remembered. And something else that freaked him out was, he smelled food. He knew then that he wasn't at the Dursleys', because he was sure after 10 years of him making every meal they ate, they didn't know how to cook on their own. And definitely not what he was smelling.  
  
So he sat up, and as soon as he did he clenched his teeth together to stop himself from screaming as pain ripped through his body. A soft whimper escaped him before he laid back down slowly. And as he did this he looked up to see someone looking at him. A pair of oddly light brown eyes stared back at him. They were very special, as they were really light, way too light to even be called hazel or light brown. There was this golden-brown, very soft color to them. Add her deep brown hair with black roots and the soft smile on her face, and she Harry wondered if he was seeing an angel.  
  
"Morning silly. You can't sit up like that until your back heels all the way. And she smiled softly to him. And then Harry realized something. He was seeing her clearly without feeling his glasses on. He reached around for them but felt nothing.   
  
She smiled again. "Don't worry about those. While you were unconscious my brother got your glasses. He found the prescription and did a procedure he and his college group have been working on for a while. They are a type of eye-drops that correct your vision with no surgery. He hoped you wouldn't mind, but he needed a test subject."  
  
Harry's jaw fell. The story didn't sound exactly believable, but something about her smile and the look I her eyes told him she wouldn't lie to him, so he might as well believe her. So he simply smiled back at her and then realized he didn't know her name. But she spoke first. "I don't know your name…" He smiled and nodded.  
  
"Nor do I know yours." He replied.  
  
"Hi, I'm Harry." He said, holding out his hand to her. She took it, shaking slightly and smiled her beautiful smile at him.  
  
"Hi, I'm…" But before she could say anything the door opened up and in the doorway, holding a huge leather belt, was someone none of them expected to see.  
  
"Uncle Vernon…"  
  
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A/N: Okay everyone, here's my little attempt at the beginning of a 6th year story. I hope everyone likes it, and the other elements of the story, (action, romance, mystery, suspense, a dash of horror and a lot of comedy) will arrive soon enough, and at a more eased rate than the other story. Please continue reading and let me know what you all think. Thanks.  
  
Please tell me what you think and things you would like to see? Ship of the story? Open to most things minus slash and NO R/H!!!! but other suggestions open.  
  
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	2. Chapter 2: Lil' Whinging

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Chapter 2: Odd Little Spurts of Adventure  
  
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"Uncle Vernon…"  
  
Harry's eyes grew large at the sight of the belt held in his uncle's hand. He gripped onto the girl's hand, which was suddenly in his hand and he wasn't completely sure how it got there in the first place. But he gripped slightly as the large man lumbered closer and closer to him. The man seethed loudly and he breathed deeper and deeper with every earth-shaking step he took to Harry. He reached out and grabbed Harry roughly by the arm and pulled him up to standing.  
  
He jerked the boy up and off the couch, forcing Harry to release the girl's hand as to protect her from any physical or verbal onslaught he knew he was to endure. But as he was dragged from the house, he was rescued at the very last second. Right as they neared the door to the house to leave and head back to Number 4, the girl's mother and Robby came around the corner. "Oh, Mr. Dursley, how very *nice* of you to come by."  
  
Vernon whirled around and looked to the woman angrily before plastering a very sardonic smile on his face. "Oh, Ms. Thomas, I didn't know you were here otherwise I would have thanked you properly for watching over the boy here."  
  
Ms. Thomas' eyebrows went up when she heard what Vernon referred to Harry as and Harry smiled slightly, wishing she could hear some of the other things he was called. "So, you have come to take him home, I can assume."  
  
"Yes, that is what I have done."  
  
"Then what, may I ask, are you doing with that leather belt?" Vernon had made the mistake of not hiding said belt, and it was in clear view of everyone. When Vernon didn't answer Ms. Thomas continued. "I hope you intend to use it on that delinquent boy of yours to teach him about causing trouble like he did. Almost killed the young one here last night."  
  
Vernon smirked slightly, but it did not go unmissed. "Well, actually I was intending to…" He stopped as he realized something. His obsession with seeming normal to everyone was interfering with his hate for everything concerning Harry. It was either seem normal and care for Harry, or seem odd and continue hating him. So the decision was made for him.  
  
"Well, Harry is still slightly injured, and I don't think it would be a good idea for him to be moved for about the next 24-36 hours. After that we will let you know so you can have everything waiting for him." Vernon looked confused so she elaborated. "Seeing as how he is such a hero around Privet now, I'd expect you to have everything around the house ready for his complete comfort as he heals completely." The look in her eyes made It so Vernon would be hard-pressed to reject the offer.   
  
"I think he should come home. He wouldn't want to be an inconvenience, would you boy?" The glare in his uncle's eyes worried him. He knew if he went home then he would not need to have a room made comfortable for him, he was sure they figured the cupboard was comfortable enough. He sighed in defeated however and nodded, making a move to stand.  
  
"Thank you all, but I should go. I wouldn't want to be an 'inconvenience'…"  
  
"Its no inconvenience at all. Actually, we insist." The glare in her eyes and the emphasis on the word "insist" was something Vernon could not reject. She smiled at Harry and motioned for him to sit down. He looked to his uncle who was still glaring, but the girl grabbed Harry's hand and pulled him somewhat harshly back to lying down on the couch. And as she forced him to lay back down, he knew all he could do was sigh and nod. So he did just that. Vernon growled slightly before he turned and went out of the door before coming back in. "He can come and pick up his stuff whenever necessary." Vernon smiled largely, which was not a nice smiled at all as it caused the fat around his face to shake.   
  
But his smile disappeared as Ms. Thomas spoke again. "And I will not tolerate hearing him called boy ever again. He has a name, and I am damn sure you know it, so call him by it. He is not an animal, he is a human being." Vernon scowled at this. An Ms. Thomas saw this and commented. "A much better one than you mind you, but he is a human. And you will treat him as one. I will make sure of that." And with her threat she motioned for Vernon to leave. The large man growled menacingly at not getting his way and he turned and walked away from the house, his anger making him stomp, something that, coupled with his huge mass, seemed to actually shake the streets to the point that the street-lights were rattling, the bulbs breaking. And Harry watched this, smiling to himself as he sat there next to the beautiful girl he had rescued the day before, happy for once as she held his head in her lap safely.  
  
He sat there for a bit before looking up at her. "I still never got your name."  
  
She smiled her beautiful smile at him and nodded. "Heather. Heather Samantha Thomas. 17 years old yesterday."  
  
"You mean…"  
  
"Yes, it was my birthday."  
  
"I am so sorry…"  
  
"Why? You gave me the best present I could ever be given. Actually, you saved something that I hoped to keep that was almost stolen from me."  
  
It took him a minute but he realized what she was talking about and nodded sadly, depressed to even be related to Dudley at that moment. "That bastard." he muttered to himself and subconsciously snuggled into her lap more and closed his eyes. What he failed to realize, or possibly realized but said nothing about, was the intertwining of their fingers as their hands found each others.   
  
There was little odd about it for either as Heather leaned back and Harry closed his eyes and both fell asleep once more. And as Harry went to sleep, he thought about something. "If the first two days of vacation have been like this, then this summer is going to be very interesting."  
  
And he would never know the half of it.  
  
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A/N: I know how kind of boring this part was. It was a little slow, but this story will build up in action and excitement, unlike A.M and such that jumped right into it. But I wanted to get it established that the Dursleys had to be kind to Harry.  
  
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It was still dark. Darker than the very shadows and darker than any night. It was so dark that it seemed to betray every sense, not just sight. So dark he couldn't feel his body. So dark he wasn't sure he had a body anymore.  
  
And then he saw it. It was pretty far away. It was blinding and oh-so-welcomed to the darkness that was steadily closing in all around him, the shadows taking his body for their own. And as soon as he saw it, the cold around him became easier to bear. The shadows became less painful around him, and the darkness inside of him became a lot more obedient and tame, no longer threatening to break out of the small space in the back of his brain he had allowed for them. They calmed and relaxed.  
  
So he headed for it. He needed it. To stop the cold and darkness around him. The calm the pain and shadows inside of him. But as he neared it, the feeling of serenity grew.  
  
And as he neared it, suddenly it was going away. And the darkness and cold was fading as well. And soon he felt consciousness returning.  
  
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Harry awoke and groaned as his dream was bothering him slightly as he tried to remember what it was about and find what it meant. His eyes stung slightly, and he was sure his neck was as stiff as a board, but besides that, he felt great. So great in fact that he decided to jump up from the couch.  
  
Big Mistake.  
  
No, huge mistake.  
  
Not necessarily because of his back. It did hurt just a bit, but that was not the reason. The reason was the wooden coffee table in front of the couch that Harry had forgotten was there. His jump had sent him forward and his legs made contact and soon he found himself staring into the cream-colored carpet, groaning to himself as his hair fell around the side of his face and blocked out the world around him. And as Heather sat up, looking at him, she heard a noise. It was a low, deep noise and for a while she thought he was crying. And then he rolled over and his deep laughter rang out, his body shaking slightly from the laughing.  
  
Ms. Thomas came around the corner and looked at him. She smiled slightly, and Heather said, "Mom, I think we should get him out of the house. He seems to be going a bit stir-crazy in here, and it might be bad if he stays here any longer."  
  
Ms. Thomas and Heather laughed slightly as Harry's laughter died down. And then Ms. Thomas spoke.   
  
"That reminds me. Your birthday present we never got to give you. Its in the garage." She pulled out a key ring and tossed it to the girl. She had lost the laughter and was simply sitting there staring at the keys. Ms. Thomas smiled before adjusting the button-up black shirt she wore slightly before heading out the door, tossing quick good-byes in her wake.  
  
Heather sat there until her mother had drove off, and then looked up to Harry. She squealed slightly and ran over, grabbing his hand and yanking him up. He smiled as she leapt around, running around the table to some room in the house. This house was unlike Number 4 because it was in the late teens of Privet, and from 1-20 of Privet Drive, the houses steadily increased in price as well as luxury and size. So when they ended up in the garage, Harry wondered how they got there. But when they did and the lights turned on, he saw a large black SUV as well as a car covered in a car cover with a big red bow on it.  
  
Heather squealed slightly and ran over to it, yanking off the bow and then enlisting Harry's help in the taking-off of the car cover. And as the cover came off, Heather screamed even louder and Harry simply cocked his head to the side and muttered, "Bloody Hell."  
  
And so the summer began, and both climbed into the car and left, And Harry smiled. He had a new friend, they had wheels and a hell of a lot of time to kill.  
  
"England, watch out here comes Harry and Heather!" Heather shouted as she gunned the engine and sped off Privet drive. Neither realizing the freedom the car gave them would be the same freedom that would put them in a very interesting position not too long after words.  
  
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"So Harry, how old are you?" Heather asked, shifting the gears quickly, as if she was born to do so.  
  
"Well, I'll be 16 at the end of July." Heather smiled slightly before nodding.  
  
"So, what's interesting about you? Why should you be valued with my wonderful presence?" She asked, smiling her beautiful smile and showing that it was all in fun.  
  
"Well, there isn't much I do really. I guess I'm kind of smart, but not way above average…" Harry was really at a loss for what he could tell her and not give away the whole wizard thing. "um, not much to me really. I go to a boarding school kind of far away for most of the year, so far there are no phones or post services. So we use owls."  
  
"What, no carrier pigeons." She grinned. Harry smiled and shook his head. He wanted the subject off of him however.  
  
"What's with the car? I half thought you were going to have a fit when we pulled the cover off."  
  
Heather's eyes brightened immensely, something that worried Harry considering the beauty and odd ability to entrap him only grew as this happened. "well, its an American car. I lived in America for the past few years, and I only moved back here around November of this last year. But this was the car that I used to love above all others. My Gran would take me out in it, just us to, and we would drive with the top down in the country, the wind blowing our hair."  
  
Harry smiled and nodded. "what happened to her?"  
  
At this Heather sobered slightly. "Well, she is getting Alzheimer's, and barely remembers anything, nonetheless how to drive. So my mom had the car shipped out here. I loved this car so much. From the white of the interior to the beautiful candy-red color. And its so wonderful with the top down." Heather commented. They stopped at a red light and she lowered the top. And as soon as they began driving again, Harry's hair began whipping around and being blown back, and no matter how odd it felt, it reminded him so much of flying, something he missed so much the last year. It really did feel wonderful.  
  
He leaned back in his seat, closed his eyes and enjoyed the feeling. Which was why he missed the fact that Heather was making a turn off out of Little Whinging.  
  
They drove for a while, Harry simply lying back listening to the odd choice of music Heather had turned on. She had put in one of several CDs that were oddly stashed in the car already, and it seemed to hold a range of different music. Sometimes Harry sat up to change the track despite Heather's protests, but he had to explain to her that he really wasn't a "boy-band" type of person. Nor did he care for "ignorant and completely wrong western perceptions of life, love and how everything works out well in the end."  
  
"You've been through some stuff, haven't you?"  
  
"You'll never know the half of it." Harry said, smiling slightly to himself. Suddenly he felt them decrease their speed slightly. He sat up to see them exiting the freeway they had gotten on. He looked forward to see Big Ben standing ominously on the sky-line. And as they drove around the city, they ran into a problem. You see, Heather seemed to have made a wrong turn, and because of this, they were facing a dead end, with a man holding a bat standing in the center of the road, blocking the exit.  
  
"Step out of the car and I won't kill you!" He shouted. Heather looked completely panicked. She had no idea what to do, and was, in truth, paralyzed in fear. Harry was confused by something, but said nothing. And as the man came closer, pulled out a knife to deal with their "defiance," Harry groaned. He leaned over to Heather and waved a hand in front of her face. She was petrified.  
  
And then he made his move. The man headed straight for the back of the car, his knife held up and ready. So Harry did the only thing his mind knew how to do. Protect itself. And in the process he did something very odd.  
  
He leaned over and pulled Heather's seat back to a reclining position, causing the man's bat-swing to miss her, barely. Then Harry put one leg over and somehow got the car into reverse and sped back, hitting the man and causing him to flip over the car. Harry was shocked the windshield didn't brake, but he smiled and went into drive, driving down a block and making the turn they should have made. Then he stopped, shocked at himself for being able to do that without having ever driven a car in his life.  
  
He nudged Heather slightly to find her eyes already on him. She smiled at him softly and suddenly she grabbed him around the neck and kissed him on the lips relatively hard. She then pulled back and pushed his head away as if his lips had burned hers. When he looked at her to see if something had gone wrong, he found her smiling slightly. "What was that?"  
  
"You saved my life twice. Well, you saved my life once, and something almost as important to me once. I figured I'd thank you, and that was the only way I could think of at the moment. Blame it on the adrenaline from almost dying." She smiled and was looking forward at the road the whole time she said this, having resumed driving by this time.  
  
Harry sat there, his jaw hanging open as he looked at her. But he simply decided to take after her and sat back, looking completely nonchalant. But the smirk on his face wouldn't leave, so he just smirked to the side she couldn't see.  
  
Soon enough they were in downtown London. It was nice weather and after finding a good parking spot, putting the top back up and setting the alarm, Harry and Heather headed out and around. And as they walked, Harry observed everything being sold and advertised and realized he had no money. But he had no desire to make contact with the Wizarding world at the moment. He had no patience for condolences or questioning at the moment. So he decided to send Hedwig to Gringott's for converted money. And then after that, Harry thought about something. He had a whole summer with nothing to do. He was not given summer homework because of O.W.L.s, so he really had nothing to do.  
  
"Heather, what did you usually do during the summer when you had nothing to do?"  
  
"Well, usually I hung out with my friends, we had a little band that we played songs we all wrote together. That, or I worked." This was something that made Harry perk up. He decided it might be a good idea to get a job in Little Whinging. "Actually, I'm going out to apply for jobs tomorrow."  
  
"can I possibly come along, maybe we can get a job at the place and I can hitch a ride from you all summer." Harry smiled and Heather nodded, seemingly liking that idea.  
  
"Sounds good, but lets leave the future for another day. Right now I'm hungry, and I want food. Now."  
  
Harry smiled and nodded before remembering his lack of funds. But Heather seemed to read this and said, "Don't worry about it. I got it. I really didn't think those damn Dursleys gave you much in ways of allowance anyways."  
  
"They don't but I have my own funds. I'll pay you back for it, that or it will be my treat next time." She nodded and Harry smiled before they headed to a restaurant. He caught sight of himself in a mirror and realized he really didn't look his best. Outside of the physical attacks he had gone through, his basic appearance including his clothes weren't too good. The reflection wasn't too good so he couldn't see much outside of a colored silhouette. So when they went into the little bistro, he went into the bathroom. And when he got there, he looked into the mirror and the shock almost knocked him out.  
  
It seemed his little lightning-bolt scar would not be too much of a problem anymore.  
  
For at the moment, Harry had some other things that would make it so that, had someone not seen the little defining scar, and even if they had, they wouldn't have recognized him.  
  
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Elsewhere, or maybe not exactly elsewhere, Hermione Granger walked with her parents around London. They had decided to go out for a simple day out, and Hermione wasn't complaining. And soon enough they were all hungry. They walked into a restaurant. As they went in and waited for a table, Hermione saw a fairly pretty girl with enchanting super-light brown eyes sitting at one of the waiting table, flipping through different magazines. She kept glancing around as if she was looking for someone.  
  
And unbeknownst to any of them, that someone was in the bathroom, staring at the reflection of someone he was sure wasn't him.  
  
The person looking back at him couldn't have been him. He was sure he hadn't looked like that a few days before.  
  
The person staring back at him did have his eyes, l and that lightning-bolt scar. And outside of that and the fact that they were, well, uh, mirroring everything he did, that was were the similarities ended.  
  
The person looking at him was taller than Harry though he was. Maybe about 5' 9" with kind of broad shoulders. He had long hair that fell around his face and graved his shoulder. The hair in the front covered up the scar on his forehead, but that scar was no longer the thing he was worried about. He had other problems.  
  
Like the one going from just above his right eyebrow straight down to about the middle of his right cheekbone. Apparently that door knocker had done a little more damage than he had thought.  
  
In general his look was very interesting. The differences didn't make him look really bad in his opinion, but actually made him look a bit rebellious. He grinned, imagining himself in a black leather jacket and some really dark reflective sunglasses at the moment. He smiled, deciding he would have to go out and get himself a new wardrobe soon enough.  
  
And finally he heard banging on the door and his name being called. He walked from the bathroom and smiled down at a slightly annoyed Heather. "What happened, fall in?"  
  
"Sorry, but I just caught sight of the mirror and I couldn't stop staring at myself." he grinned widely. She scoffed.  
  
"Sorry, but you are not that great looking. In the bathroom for 15 minutes. Had me freaking worried out of my mind." Harry grinned at this. Suddenly the girl's name was called out as Heather Potter. Harry looked confused, and Heather blushed slightly, but simply stated, "It was so that we could both be called. So they could have both of us warned we were up." She nodded and they before Harry could say anything she simply stated. "Shut up and go sit down. I have to go in the bathroom for a second."  
  
Harry nodded, grinning slightly before following the waitress to their table as Heather went into the bathroom.  
  
And as she did, Hermione sat, slightly confused. She was sure she heard Potter, and it was a very uncommon last name. She looked around and saw a boy with black hair, but he was built nothing like Harry, and Harry didn't have that odd scar down his eye. And Harry wore glasses. The eyes color looked the same, but it could have just been the lighting in the restaurant. Hermione ensured herself it was not Harry and sighed, spacing out again, something she had been doing before she heard "Potter."  
  
"Besides, Harry knows he's supposed to not leave the Dursleys'. He wouldn't disobey Dumbledore."  
  
How wrong she was.  
  
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Hermione sat with her parents, eating her food. And as she looked to them, they made eyes contact. And then her father started. "Hermione, we have something to tell you."  
  
"…yes?"  
  
"Hermione dear, well, we don't know how to say this but…you're gonna be an older sister."  
  
Hermione screamed, jumping up and down happily, the restaurant looking at her in shock and slight confusion. All but one table. It was the table that boy and the girl who had been called heather were at. They were talking about something, and when Hermione screamed they didn't even give her a second look. But when she looked over to see why, the boy glanced up at her.  
  
There was something about the glance that seemed familiar, but completely different. There was something about him that made her feel like she knew him and that she had never seen him before at the same time.  
  
And she didn't know why, but she felt something from him. Something deep and oddly powerful coming from him. But also something dangerous. And she had no idea why he stayed in her mind, but with her curiosity, she hoped they ran into each other again so she could figure out why she felt that from him.  
  
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Not much else happened that day and Harry was soon back at Number 19 Privet Drive, about to go to sleep, this time properly in the guest room.  
  
And as he slept, the world blackened out, blacker than black and colder than the very depths of the arctic. It froze him to the point that he felt hot, and broke into a cold sweat. And as the all-consuming shadows surrounded him, he saw it again. He saw and felt it this time. It was light and it was heat to the dark, freezing cold world. And he knew one thing. He had to have it. All to himself. He had to get to it, and he had to take it. To feel its warmth. To see its light. To feel the power he felt coming off of it.  
  
And as he drew closer to it, it only seemed to draw closer to him, like it too wanted to get to Harry.  
  
And soon he was almost close enough to touch it. It was still too bright o make out what it was, the golden-white light shaking his whole being as he neared it. And as he neared it, he realized something…  
  
…No one was going to wake him up…  
  
And he was going to make it to light this time!  
  
And as Harry neared it and reached out to touch it, something happened that he really never expected at all.  
  
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A/N: Okay, another chapter. People have begun to take the story pretty well, and I do hope everyone does continue to read and review on the story and let me know your thoughts and ideas, I'm open to most anything on this story. So let me know. Thanks and please review."  
  
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	3. Chapter 3: Searching

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Chapter 3: Hunting for Jobs, Understanding and the Truth  
  
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Harry reached out, his hand nearing the golden cylinder of light. The feeling of warmth, light and an odd sense of protection filling him. But as he reached out and his hand got just close enough to touch the light, he saw something. Something completely and utterly frightening. But that explained the feeling he felt.  
  
He was, literally, surrounded by Dementors. Millions would have been an understatement to end all understatements. Saying there were billions would have been like saying a dragon was a slightly taller salamander.   
  
Everywhere he looked, he saw darkness. He felt darkness. He felt cold. He felt depression. But the light. The light made it all better. He reached out and made a grab for it, and he felt the Dementors fear. But only for a second. Because, his hand closed around the light, and the feeling went through him. But the feelings of happiness, life and comforting warmth were overshadowed quickly by what he saw.  
  
Flashes, quicker than he could comprehend of horses, huge battles fought by knights, dragons, medieval warlocks, dark forces battling light forces. And then he saw it. It stayed in his mind for some time. It was a castle. A castle that looked oddly familiar. And somewhere in that castle, he felt something calling him. Calling his name specifically. Calling him with the feelings he had felt from the light. Calling him to save them all. Begging him to find what was hidden there.  
  
And as he tried to figure it all out, the world exploded in super-bright golden-white light. And then above him he saw what he was sure was an angel. That was, until she spoke.  
  
"Hey you, get your lazy ass up, I've been calling you for a long time! Do you want to go get a job so you can pay me back or not." And then he was hit with what he figured was a pillow, and she was gone.  
  
Sitting up, Harry sighed and rubbed his eyes, his hand quickly tracing the scar across his eyes. It was still very interesting to him, but he smiled slightly and hopped up, looking around the room before realizing something. He had no clothes there!  
  
And as if reading his mind, Heather opened the door holding some jeans and a shirt that Harry figured were her brother's. And as she stood there, she tossed them on the bed. She looked Harry up and down and smirked. "Nice." she commented before turning and leaving.  
  
Harry stood at a loss before he checked his current state of dress, or undress. Apparently it had gotten kind of hot during the night and he had stripped down to just his boxers and a t-shirt during his sleep. He growled loudly before blushing as Heather peaked her head in once more for a second look. Harry grabbed his pillow and threw it, hitting her in the head as she tried to close the door. He laughed to himself before dressing.  
  
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Harry left the confines of the guest room to find the house empty once more besides Heather. He looked over to her and as if reading his mind again, she spoke. "My mum's at work and Robby is too. More developments on that thing I told you about."  
  
Harry nodded as he adjusted the jeans he wore. They were faded slightly on the front, and it was a cool look. He had opted to abandon the t-shirt she had given him, considering, somehow, it was pink. He didn't know how or what possessed her to give it to him, but it was pink, and at the moment it was sitting in his room. So he had come down stairs in the jeans and a simply black hooded sweatshirt he had found in the guest room closet. It was too big on him, and with the hood up he had an eerie look because his eyes seemed to glow in the darkness the hood created.  
  
"Where's the shirt I gave you?"  
  
"Has anyone ever told you your sense of humor is incredibly warped?" Harry muttered. She just smiled widely and nodded before getting up. And when she did, Harry had to sit down. He had known Heather had a nice body and was very pretty, but the current state she was in was too much for him. She was wearing very tight fitting jeans, similar to his, except hers clung to every curve tightly, and they were very nice curves indeed. The jeans hung low on her hips, and she wore a very light tan colored shirt that just showed her flat stomach. She wore some tan boots on her feet, and all of this together seemed to make her unusually colored eyes stand out greatly.  
  
"So, should we go and see about those jobs?" She asked. Harry nodded dumbly, still gawking. However, Heather noticed and seemed to have no problem with it at all. She started to the door, giving Harry the back of her to stare at. He looked like a star-struck fan boy. He knew he looked kind of like the first years always did when they saw him, and he hated it. So he tried to stop. And then he realized something.  
  
"Hey Heather. Can we go by Number 4 first?" he asked. He could feel Heather tense at this. "Actually, go ahead and start the car and stuff, I'll run down there." But Heather shook her head at this, remembered what happened to Harry the last time he tried to go back.  
  
"I'll go with you." She said plainly and then walked to the car. Harry ran out and got in, a huge smile on his face. He thanked her and she smiled slightly. "You owe me Potter. You owe me big. And I will collect." And a sinisterly seductive smirk hit her face as, from under the seat she pulled something very odd. A pair of driving gloves.  
  
"Now is that even necessary, really. I mean come on here, driving gloves. Now if you pull out some goggles, I'm getting out of the car."  
  
"What, I am into my driving."  
  
Harry shook his head slowly and then opened the car door quickly. Heather drove slow as Harry had the door open. As soon as they got by Number 4, he got out of the still moving car, albeit the car might have been going 5mph.  
  
He ran around the house and suddenly Heather saw a light in the house turn on. Minutes later a snowy owl flew out of the house carrying some kind of letter, and Harry jumped from what she figured was his window to the rain-guard over the porch. He then hopped down from that and ran over to the car in a low crouch, diving in and slumping low, waiting for Heather to drive.  
  
"What are you doing, re-enacting Mission Impossible or something?" Harry rolled his eyes as Heather moved her hand to start the car. But her hand moved past the gear shift to a small compartment he hadn't seen. And from it…  
  
"Hell no, let me out now. I refuse to be seen with you." Harry moved to get out, but Heather reached over and put her hand on her arm. Harry sighed and closed the door, getting back in the car. They lowered the top and drove through the crisp morning air, the wind blowing their hair.  
  
Harry turned to Heather and looked at her as she drove. It was really goofy to see her in her nice tight clothes and then some black leather gloves and black driving goggles. He was distracted from how weird she looked by how young and innocent she looked at the moment. Truly innocent. And someone he had known all of his life had tried to take that innocence away. And luckily he had just made it there. And Harry realized, there were many girls that went through that every day, and no one was there to save them.  
  
And Harry realized, there was something just like that going on in the Wizarding World in a different way. Little children were losing their innocence because of the war going on, and it was being taken from them every time some Death Eater burst into a house and killed their parents. And once more it was up to him to save them all.  
  
And for once in his life, he was in no way resentful or nonchalant about it. He wanted to do something. He needed to do something. And he knew somewhere in him, that was why he had been targeted as a child. Because the simple fact was…  
  
He was the only one that could do anything.  
  
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They pulled into the first destination, a clothing store. Heather was oddly efficient in her thinking, subconsciously organizing everything they needed to do in a list in her mind. She figured they could apply and get Harry's stuff at the same time. So as she requested the applications, Harry looked around in the store. He saw several things he liked, so he picked them up and held them and he and Heather sat on the floor against the check-out counter and filled out the application.   
  
Harry put as much as he could, but when they asked for school he attended, he groaned. He filled in St. Brutus' reluctantly and then turned it in before Heather saw. She finished as he waited before they looked around some more.   
  
Eventually Harry had everything he wanted, and purchased the clothes before asking if he could wear something he just saw out after he paid. He paid while Heather took the bags to the car. The girl had the car running and was just waiting for him to get there before she left when he came out, and she observed him in awe.  
  
He still had on the jeans, but he had bought a pair of black boots. They were very nice and odd because the entire bottom, the usually black rubber sole was white. It was a nice contrast. He had on a new black t-shirt, with a black hair-tie he had found restraining his hair. Over this he had a simple black leather jacket. And finally he was wearing a pair of reflective black sunglasses. Generally he looked really bad-ass and, in Heather's opinion, "good as hell."  
  
He got in, smirking slightly, and something about him was different. Its like the clothes came with a new attitude. And as Heather observed him, she noticed something. "Something's missing."  
  
"What?"  
  
"Well, it you are going to be a complete bad-ass and all, you have to have either the tattoos, or the piercing. Or both."  
  
"Piercing sound less painful So what do I get done?"  
  
"Usually just your left ear." Harry nodded and Heather shifted gears. She smiled slightly before the car jetted off way above street legal speeds.  
  
Soon enough they were at the store. It was called Little Whinging Rebel. They were heading in when Heather said, "I have a few piercings myself." And as soon as they entered the door, the girl behind the counter seemed to squeal.  
  
"Heather, you're back. What's it been, like three days, where have you been." Harry waited the look of sarcasm, but it didn't come. So he turned to Heather and whispered.  
  
"Just a few." Heather blushed slightly and hit him in the back of the head before she went over and spoke to the girl for a minute before coming back to Harry, who had been observing the store behind his sunglasses, yet to actually move however. He looked down to Heather and said, "So how many do you have?"  
  
"Well, I have 4 in each ear, that's 8, plus my belly-button, 9, and my tongue. That's 10." Harry looked at her in complete shock. He moved his head to the side and then slowly a smirk slid over his face. A very sinister one. Heather rolled her eyes. "Don't think like that. Don't even go there. I already had to deal with that from Zoe, Jamie, Sam, Tim, and everyone else. Its not like that. It was a little birthday present to myself. That's why I couldn't really scream, because I could barely talk."  
  
Harry nodded before walking around the store. He saw a few interesting things, and he was listening o the music playing in the store when Heather grabbed him and sat him down in a stool. She gave him a clipboard with a very, very, simplified application, which basically asked what his full name was, his address, What position he would prefer, the working hours he'd like, and, oddly, how many piercings he had and where they were done.  
  
As he was about to put 0, the girl that had been behind the counter walked over and rubbed a cotton ball on his left earlobe. Harry thought it felt weird, but kind of good. She disposed of the cotton ball and Harry closed his eyes as he began to feel her hand running up and down the side of his neck under his ear. It felt kind of weird but really good. He actually could have sworn he purred, which was a big issue to him. But as he was getting ready to open his eyes to see if anyone noticed, he felt a sharp sting to his ear. Having been through worse pain curses, he didn't cry or scream out, but he did flinch slightly at the sudden action.  
  
And he opened his eyes as he felt something pressed into the new hole in his ear. He opened his eyes and looked around to se Heather standing in front of him, smiling brightly. A mirror was held up and he had a little silver ring-like earring in his left ear. He nodded and stood, filling out the application with the 1 piercing he now had. He also put in that it were done at that shop and turned them in.  
  
The girl who did his piercing introduced herself to Harry soon enough, a cute blush on her equally cute face. "Hi, I'm Robin." She smiled, pointing to her nametag. Harry nodded, checking the girl out. She was fairly cute, and had to have many piercings. She had what looked like three on each earlobe, two on the top of her ear, and one through the little thing that suck from her head in the center of her ear. He didn't know what it was called or why she pierced it, but she did. She had one through the side of her eyebrow and one in her nose. And when she spoke, he saw she had on in her tongue as well. She had sky blue eyes, so light they almost seemed white. This made for an odd contrast to her odd but probably dyed black hair.   
  
It was interesting, but it worked for her and her deep black hair fell all the way to her lower back. It was done nicely in absurdly small and thin braids that fell nicely and looked almost like individual hairs. These braids where in a low ponytail. It was a nice look and she was fairly pretty.  
  
"Hi, I'm Harry." He responded, thinking to smile, but deciding on what he figured was a really sexy smirk. Apparently it worked because she swooned slightly. Harry smiled and Heather came over. She turned to him, and Robin seemed to be writing something.   
  
"Harry, I leave you alone for one minute and you're already trying to seduce my poor friend Robin. You shouldn't do that, the poor little girl is susceptible to anyone's charm, even your small bit that you possess could make her go into shock."  
  
It was clear Robin rolled her eyes as she leaned over and slapped Heather in the back of the head. She then smiled very sweetly at Harry. "Alright robin, we have to go." Heather said, heading toward the door.  
  
"Remember the little group thing we have tonight. And feel free to bring Harry with you too." Robin called out as she waved bye to Heather as she walked from the store. Heather nodded and walked out of the door.   
  
Robin turned to Harry and held her hand out for him to shake while saying. "It was nice meeting you Harry. I hope we can talk soon. *real* soon." she smiled sweetly and Harry nodded and then felt the paper put in his hand when she took his hand.  
  
He opened it as he walked form the store and read it. It was Robin's phone number. And as he read it, he felt a sharp move. And soon the paper was out of his hand. He remembered the number, but he didn't like the fact that Heather had taken it from him.  
  
"So, she couldn't resist. Well, I'll take this and make sure it doesn't plague you. I'll get rid of it, don't worry." She had a big smile on her face as she held it in her hand away from Harry. He made some small moves for it, but she just moved it from him. Soon it was aggravating him, so he used his Seeker skills and snatched it out of her hand and put it back in his pocket before she even knew he had moved at all. She looked around the ground for it, and then to Harry, who was walking to the car with his hands in his pockets. She growled slightly and went over, getting in the car and starting it.  
  
"You really shouldn't mess around with Robin too much. She's a little odd, and a really big freak. She's a nymph with a capital O." Heather commented. "She's my friend, don't get me wrong and all, but you might want to just quit while you're ahead. She not your type, trust me."  
  
Harry looked mock-shocked. "So what is my type?"  
  
Heather turned and looked at him. "Let's see. First, she has to be shorter than you. You carry yourself in that way, like you want to feel the ability to protect her. She has to stand for the same things as you, and more importantly, stand for something, not be a brainless air-headed giggling fan-girl…hum, what else? Well, you need a girl that you can have a good conversation with, one who is on or around the same level, mentally and emotionally, as you. Someone that has gone through similar experiences as you. Someone who…"  
  
"For someone who hasn't known me that long, you sure have me pegged." Harry commented.  
  
"well, yeah, that's how…"  
  
"But someone does sound just a little jealous. Maybe you don't want me around Robin so you can have me all to yourself?" Harry wasn't sure where this burst of energy and self-confidence came from, because it didn't used to be there. He figured it came with the start of the summer and his general different look. And his epiphany about how fragile and short life is, and how you have to live it for every moment.  
  
Heather rolled her eyes. "Whatever. Besides, I can't have you even if I wanted you."  
  
"And why is that. If you wanted me that bad, I'm sure I could lower my worth just enough so you could have me." Harry joked, gaining a smile from Heather as she replied.  
  
"No, we don't want you lowering your worth just for little ol' me. Besides, that's not it."  
  
"So why? Do you swing for my team? Are you and Robin a little 'freaky' together?" Harry smirked slightly.  
  
"Yes Harry, of course."  
  
Harry jumped up and down in his seat in mock-excitement. "Really, well, Robin said she liked me, do you think I could get in on it too?" Heather again rolled her eyes before hitting him in the head with her hand.  
  
"Not that either."  
  
"Then tell me so I can stop making things up. My mind is not a very good thing, it has been jaded and my guessing will only get worse and worse until you tell me."  
  
Heather shook her head before saying, "Its because,…well…" She turned from Harry and looked at the road. But he kept looking at her. "I have a boyfriend."  
  
Harry turned to look forward, slight bewilderment and confusion on his face as he looked forward. He was really at a loss. He felt bad for the guy if how Heather acted and did things around him, she did with every other guy.  
  
"So how does your *boyfriend* feel about your flirting with everyone you see?" Harry said, bitterness edging his voice for a reason he couldn't figure out. Heather seemed to sense this and chanced a glance at him. He was still staring forward, not looking at anything outside of the road in front of them, and definitely not her.  
  
"Well, we have a weird relationship. He knows how I am, and I know he's a guy and I am trying to not do…certain things… for a while, so basically it works like this: We can pretty much do whatever we really want with anyone else as long as, in the end, we are still together. It's a non-exclusive relationship. Its been like that for going on two years this week, and it works for us."  
  
Harry nodded, still looking forward. He looked to the side and at her. He smiled. "Wow, you have got to be some girlfriend to let him do that. I need to get one like you. Got any friends…" And the Harry smirked. "Oh yeah, I already met one and I got one number. I'm 1 for 1. I'm going for all of your female friends, lets see...I wonder how long it will take. Shouldn't be too hard."   
  
"Yeah, keep telling yourself that. They wouldn't want you anyways."  
  
"Care to place a bet on that?" he smirked at her and then went back to looking out the front window, Heather turning on the music and sitting back, chuckling at him. And then she remembered what Robin said.  
  
"Oh yeah! Harry, my friends and I have a little tradition where we go to the movie theatre every week and go see a movie at like 6, and then movie-hop until it closes or we get caught. We make it a contest, last to get caught wins. The latest time was Zoe, you'll meet her. She made it until an hour and a half before the theatre closed. It was great. Do you want to come along?"  
  
Harry smiled and nodding, deciding not to reveal that he had never seen a movie in a theatre before. Heather smiled and he sat back, looking out the window and listening to the music, a similar type as what was playing in L.W.R. And as they moved their heads in unison to the music, they continued to their next destination.  
  
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Soon enough they were back at Number 19 Privet Drive. Harry had taken all of his stuff up to his room and dropped it off. He decided to change clothes before they left, so he could theatre hop in the dark better. He put on some nice baggy black jeans. He put his black boots on before putting on a black muscle-shirt and over that a black t-shirt that had king of large white writing in the center that said, "Come Closer, I Don't Bite…" and then under that, much smaller, was, "…Hard…"   
  
He had thought it was a funny shirt and had bought it. He pulled the new blank black hooded pullover that he had bought and finally replaced the sunglasses. His hair tie was scratching his neck, so he took it off and let his hair free again. He pulled the hood up and walked down the stairs and back to the living room.   
  
Heather was there, and had changed into some white tight-fitting pants and a small pink top. She had pink boots on with a pink ribbon-like thing tying her hair back in a ponytail. She had son some pinkish sunglasses and had a huge white pull-over in her arms. It looked oddly familiar, and Heather smiled, nodding. "Its yours. But I figured you wouldn't need it. Plus, white doesn't seem to be your color anymore. You seem more of a dark colored person. Hence the rash amounts of black you have on."  
  
Harry rolled his eyes as she said all of that when the first sentence would have sufficed. "You talk too much. Its way too late for that." He groaned and then sat down on the couch. Suddenly there were keys heard and Ms. Thomas came through the front door. She looked to Harry and then to Heather.  
  
"Heather, who is that boy sitting on our couch?" Both Harry and Heather looked shocked.  
  
"Uh, mom/Ms. Thomas, it just Harry/me, Harry." They said together. She looked between them and then she looked to Harry and smiled, nodding.  
  
"Sorry dear, you look kind of different." And then she headed up the stairs. "And don't call me Ms. Thomas, Call me Rebecca, please. Ms. Thomas makes me feel old." And as she disappeared up the stairs, Heather muttered to herself.  
  
"That's cause you are." Harry opened his mouth to laugh, but stopped. As he heard a loud voice he had just listened to a moment before.  
  
"I heard that young lady!" Harry flinched but Heather looked unphased.  
  
"Key word, young." She said and then grabbed her keys. She nodded her head to the door and Harry stood, heading to the door. Heather shouted out, "Mom, I'm going to the movies for the Weekly Ritual. Be back at some point."  
  
"Tell them all I said hi."  
  
"I will!" and they headed out of the house and to the car. They got in and started driving. And as they did, Heather looked a bit nervous.  
  
"Harry, there's uh…"  
  
"What?" Harry asked in concern.  
  
"Well, there's something you should know about my friends…"  
  
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A/N: Okay, Chapter 3 is done and finished. I hope I helped all of you wondering about the light in his dreams, but I also hope it leads to more questions. The mystery behind the light Is in no way solved, but I will say this:   
  
Watch out, because the more Harry comes in contact with the light, the more he changes. And since he can make it to the light in his dreams now, that may mean that every time Harry sleeps, he will change slightly. Let's just say this: We're no longer talking about the meek little Harry we usually see anymore.  
  
Please let me know what you all think about the story. What should the ship be? Do you all like Heather. I like her and her Interactions with Harry. If you could, what would you change about her to make her better? Thanks all!  
  
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	4. Chapter 4: Friends and Enemies

A/N: This story will begin to take a more adult and older approach at true teenage life with a few differences. So there will be romantic issues, fights, emotional outbursts, sexual tension, flirting, and a lot of other things conflicting teenager thoughts and emotions. And, add to that the magical influence of these dreams Harry is having and some old and new friends thrown into the mix, and what do you get? One hell of a summer I believe!  
  
Now here comes the bloody story!!!!  
  
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Last time on Secrets of Hogwarts…  
  
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They got in and started driving. And as they did, Heather looked a bit nervous.  
  
"Harry, there's uh…"  
  
"What?" Harry asked in concern.  
  
"Well, there's something you should know about my friends…"  
  
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And now…  
  
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"What is it, what do I need to know?" Harry asked, nervously. He was getting a little worried about what she was getting ready to tell him, as he had his own secrets and he knew how damaging those could be.  
  
"Now, Please don't like, totally trip out on me or anything, but…uh, well…" Heather stuttered out, still looking forward.  
  
"What? Spit it out!" Harry grew nervous and frustrated.  
  
"Well, we have been friends for a long time,. And share everything with each other, so well…" She sighed. "Look, lets just say we all have our differences, and things that make each of us different from everyone. You will find them out on your own, hopefully. Seeing as how they all don't weird you out and you decide to distance yourself from all of us."  
  
Harry looked at her complete avoiding of the question and sighed. "Could you at least let me know something."  
  
"Well, we're mostly really open with each other in everything. We tell each other everything, we do mostly everything with each other, things like that. You'll see."  
  
Harry began to get annoyed by her avoiding the question and opened his mouth to talk, she swerved sharply to the left as a car swung to the side. The car swung some more around and came to a stop. And then it began. The driver that had pulled out began to yell from the window of the SUV that they had had to swerve to miss.  
  
"Hey bitch, watch where you're going before you kill someone! Stupid slut! No-Driving whore! Need some damn driving lessons!" Shouted a voice that both recognized, oddly.  
  
Harry growled and balled up his fist. For the fat face sticking out of the car was one that belonged someone both knew and hated. Piers.  
  
And then it happened. The face in the passenger's side appeared. One that was hated even more, by both.  
  
"Dudley…."  
  
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Harry made a move for the seatbelt, but felt something odd as he tried to undo the belt. Heather's hand closed over his and held it, stopping him from releasing it and rising from the vehicle. He looked to her and she was shaking her head. She gunned the engine slightly, and then shifted the car into reverse. She spun back and then back into drive to leave the scene. Or she tried. For standing in her way was the aforementioned ball of fat. And he looked intent on not moving again.  
  
He stomped toward the idle Mustang, his eyes would have been menacingly squinting were it not for the fact that his eyes were naturally squinted because of the large amount of fat surrounding his apparently blue eyes. "You slut. I remember you. You are that one that got me in all this trouble. You are the one who got me kicked out of Smeltings. And you will pay for that!"  
  
He marched right up to the front of the car. And it was then that he acknowledged the form in the car next to her. He was wearing deep colors, and there was an ominous "bad-ass" look to him. One seemed oddly familiar, and one that radiated in waves that clearly stated at the moment, "Come near me and die. Painfully."  
  
Dudley hesitated, but Piers was near him, and he highly doubted the figure rising incredibly slowly from his seat could take on the both of them. So he pressed on toward Heather's door. Harry growled as he reached out to grab her and was getting ready to lunge at Dudley when he was pushed back as the car sped forward past Dudley and back en route to the theatre.  
  
"Well, what an omen to what is to come this wonderful evening, what do you think Harry?" Heather spoke light-heartedly. It was just sarcastic enough and annoyingly obvious that he chuckled slightly. He ran a hand through his hair, the spiky texture it took upon this action revealed the intensity of his previous situation, showing his sweating and this was joined by the steady pricking pain in his palms. He looked down and saw his nails had cut his palm because of how tight he was clinching his fists.  
  
He looked down at the blood that was just beading up on his palms in silent shock. It was not that he had never seen blood, he had seen his share, but this was pain he had caused on himself in order to stop said person from attacking another human. Harry had never felt anger like that, had never felt hate and pure, unadulterated loathing, toward another person, nonetheless someone related to him, his own flesh and blood.  
  
Heather glanced to him and could seemingly feel the thoughts he was having, so she said nothing as she drove down the street toward the movies, checking every few moments to see if they were being followed.  
  
They weren't.  
  
Well, at least not at the moment.  
  
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A/N: Sorry, but some things are better left insinuated that said flat out. Things will become clear.  
  
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They pulled into the closest parking place that Heather could find. It was fairly close to the front, and they both got out of the car and headed up front to the ticket booth. Waiting outside of said booth was a group of teenagers. They were ranging in type, size, attitude and style. There were tall guys, short girls, thin and model-like to more filled out. There was the obvious punk-rock like look to some, with the spiky hair and ripped Dickies and Chuck Taylor's, to the more preppy look with the khaki shorts and sweater vest.  
  
Harry looked on as everyone was greeting Heather. Robin immediately ran over to him and greeted him, oddly, wrapping her arms around him. He smiled awkwardly and hugged back. Heather stepped back and began to introduce everyone to Harry.  
  
"Harry, these are my friends. We are still kind of looking for a name to describe us, but we'll find one soon enough."  
  
"First, there is Robin, you know her." Harry nodded to Robin, who was wearing some fairly tight black Dickies with two chains going from a front belt hoop to a back one, one slightly longer than the other. Her flat, albeit slightly pale stomach was exposed just enough to be tempting, but not enough to show off a whole lot of it. And least not nearly as much as the girl that stood next to her.  
  
"And that is Kirstin." Harry looked to this girl. She was arguably one of the more attractive, if not the most attractive of the girls in the ling he was facing. Heather gestured from his side to her, and she winked at him. She wore a skirt reminiscent of one worn by a stereotypical catholic schoolgirl.   
  
This one was black, tan and red plaid however, and was just longer than mid-thigh on her long legs. She had curves that were completely amazing, her waist was small, her hips were wide, and her stomach was flat and fairly well toned.   
  
Said midsection was on clear display considering her continued use of the schoolgirl image. She wore a white button-up shirt, but few of the buttons were buttoned, and the bottom of the shirt was tied to show her nice stomach. The shirt jutted pretty generously our in her chest area, making her body even more curvaceous and making her seem even more appealing in terms of her body, and several of the top buttons were undone showing a nice deal of the upper part of her chest, something that made Harry begin to produce more saliva than usual.  
  
And as Harry's eyes fell on her face, his jaw fell. If he had thought she was great looking at her body, he was amazed by her face.   
  
Her exotic roots showed amazing by her nice deep-tanned skin. Her bright, almond-shaped hazel eyes shown seductively at him, and her deep brown hair had streaks of an interesting light hazel color with several wine-colored tinges in it.  
  
"And that is Justin, but we call him J-Roc. He's Kirstin's younger brother, no matter what it looks like."  
  
"J-Roc" looked little like his sister. He was pretty pale, a light coloring to his skin, but it was clear he was just as exotic as his sister. They had like eyes, but he had deep eyes, almost a black coloring. It was clear he was the punk-rocker of the group. His hair was dyed a deep black, almost as dark as Harry's but not so all consuming. He had his hair spiked in numerous little pyramid-like objects. His Dickies were dead black as well, and cut just below his knees.   
  
He wore black and white Chuck Taylor's dashed with red with skull and cross-bone designs on them. He wore a black, white and red shirt on that had some odd design of some kind of man silhouette holding up a flag. (A/N: Major points to first to tell me who that band is. Not really punk though.)  
  
"Next to him, that's Lindsey. She's the brains of the group. Graduated a year early and got excepted into Oxford for the fall." Harry looked to Lindsey, who smiled shyly at him. It was clear that she had in fact graduated early, by the look she had. She was fairly short, and had a very insecure look to her. She looked to really be about Harry's age, and she had some of the most interesting grayish-blue eyes he had ever seen. They seemed to shine with knowledge, much in the way someone else's he knew did. She had an odd sheen to her hair, which was an interesting darker color, something that was a running trend in the group. She had many curls, which were steadily making way to a slight frizz of hair, something else that Harry recognized.   
  
"It must be a smart girl thing." He muttered to himself. No one seemed to hear him but Lindsey did smile slightly. She had a beautiful smile despite said smile revealed the braces in her mouth. It was actually very endearing and damn cute, with her slightly frizzy, but nicely curled hair hanging around her cute face, making her eyes stand out more. She was dressed oddly conservatively with a simple pair or faded black jeans and a kind of over-sized black pull-over.  
  
"And this is Zoe, the one I was telling you about."  
  
Harry looked to Zoe and immediately knew why she was the most likely to hold the record. She had an odd look of innocence to her, one that probably could get her out of trouble and past a few hold-ups by security. But that innocence was completely thrown off by her shirt. It was a white tank-top, which clung to her well, and right over her…chest, there was writing.   
  
"So, couldn't keep your eyes off of them then. Well, that's all well and fine then, but I assure you, if you keep staring, the shirt will not disappear. Unless you say the right thing…"  
  
Harry's jaw fell as he read the shirt, and he realized, if her innocent look didn't get her out of trouble, then other…assets, would. He looked to her and winked, and she smiled sweetly back. Her long brown hair, which faded from black at the roots to a lighter brown near the ends, fell around her shoulder and framed her face. She wore some black baggy Dickies, which hung down and were kind of too big in the waist. She wore black suspenders, which only served to make her chest stick out more as the straps fell into the crook under each arm.  
  
Harry noticed the running trend of the large amount of dark colors among the group. Which was why the next, and last member of the group was a very interesting surprise, a he seemed completely out of place.  
  
"And this is Tim." Heather said before walking over and being wrapped, almost oddly protectively, by the boy's arms. And with this simple action, Harry knew he and Tim wouldn't get on too well. And he thought it was odd how the boy was dressed. He was wearing some khaki shorts with a button-up shirt with tiny greenish checker patterns on them, every other one from the white ones. This shirt was buttoned up completely but not tucked in. It hung out from the bottom of his white sweater vest. He wore crisp, shimmering white tennis shoes and actually looked as if he just came from a tennis game or something. He was the different one in the group especially thanks to his hair. It was short on the sides and longer on the top. The sides were an odd mix of brownish-blonde hair, while the top was really very blonde. He had interestingly boring eyes, something no one else in the group really had, as they were a normal, dead brown. This may have been pointed out ni this fashion because of Harry's clear dislike for the boy, but no one knew.  
  
Then something occurred to Harry. "Hold on, Heather. You mentioned, um…Sam and Jamie today. Where are they?"  
  
"You see, both of them are friends, but not part of this group. They were simply my friends that I see every-so-often. Eventually you'll meet them."  
  
"Hold on Mister. We don't know you or anything about you." Kirstin voiced. Everyone else nodded, so Harry sighed and spoke.  
  
"Hi. I'm Harry. Please, no hair jokes, trust me I heard them all in primary. Anyways, um, well, I line on Privet Drive with my bastard relatives, or at least I did until some events not too long. That's how I met Heather."  
  
"So, where do you live now? We may want to come visit you." Zoe said. Harry swallowed audibly and glanced to Heather. She sighed and spoke.  
  
"He's staying with me. And I know you forgetful wenches at least know how to get to my house." She said. Everyone faltered, but seemed to reluctantly except that with no explanation. But it was clear that they would get to heather soon enough.  
  
J-Roc walked over to Harry and smiled. He held up a hand and they slapped fives, clutching hands instead of letting go and pulling in to each other for a kind of brotherly half hug. "Welcome to the group man. I feel for you though, you're fresh meat, and the only one in the group that they intend to mess with. They gave up on my some time ago. All but Robin, but that's something else."  
  
Harry liked J-Roc. He didn't know why, but he did, and he knew they would become fast friends. And as they all headed into the theatre, Harry slipped off his glasses and stepped into the light that the theatre provided. And everyone got a good look at him.  
  
"Bloody…"  
  
"…Hell…"  
  
Harry looked over and saw Kirstin, Zoe and Lindsey stopped dead in their tracks. And they were all staring at him. "What?"  
  
"Oh great amazing creator, thank you for gifting woman-kind with this wonderful creation." Kirstin stated, her hands clasped in a praying manor as she looked up toward the ceiling.  
  
"Amen sister." Robin and Zoe added together. Lindsey simply nodded and looked to him.  
  
"What are you all babbling about. You act like you've never seen a guy before. I mean, in my opinion, the most beautiful person here is me, but then again, that is just my opinion." Harry grinned at J-Roc for interrupting the impending awkwardness. The girls scoffed and walked into the first theatre, and Harry grinned as he went in, missing the conversation that the girls' outburst had begun between Heather and Tim.  
  
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What do you mean he is living with you?"  
  
"Exactly what was said. What Tim, don't trust me or something. Harry and I are nothing but friends. That is all we are."  
  
"Yeah, sure. You know as well as I do that you are completely incapable of just being friends with a guy. And not only that, but he is living in the same house as you!"  
  
"So you are getting all protective and worried. Don't trust me, is that is!"  
  
"No, I don't trust him!"  
  
"Oh, so the truth comes out. And why would it be that you don't trust him, you don't know him."  
  
"Neither do you! That is my point. You don't know this fool from Adam, and yet you let him stay with you. What, is he some kind of poor homeless teen you saw on the street and you decided to be nice and take him in? Is that it?  
  
He could do anything to you. He could sneak into our room in the night and take *it* from you. He could do anything you."  
  
"Harry would never do anything…"  
  
"And how do you know?"  
  
And he took her there. He took her to the point that he was forcing her to reveal something she didn't want to, at risk of their relationship. At this point they were in the theatre, near the back where the rest of the group was. They usually let Heather and Tim work their own problems out, sop they sat idly by, barely listening, waiting for the movie to start. Harry and J-Roc had left on a snack run. And sadly, while Heather waited to answer this question, her mind conflicting, they showed up at the worst possible time.  
  
Heather opened her mouth to respond when Harry and J-Roc entered the theatre, laughing about something they had been talking about. Everything went dead silent as everyone turned to look as Tim literally glared at Harry.  
  
"Hey guys, the lines were short so…" J-Roc looked back and forth between the looks on everyone's faces, especially Heather's and Tim's and groaned. "Dammit man, okay, who died. I mean, something like this would happen on the night I finally get to schedule the movie we go see." He groaned lamely. He looked over and saw the intent look on Harry's face.  
  
"So, 'Harry', why are you staying at my girlfriend's house exactly. What, too poor to get a place of your own. What, your folks throw you out, do something bad and stupid. Sneak up on a poor unsuspecting girl and use her. Stay at her house, and then sneak into her room one night and repay her kindness by raping her. Is that it!"  
  
Harry looked at Tim blankly. It was something very odd, but to see Harry look like he didn't give a damn about anything in the world, especially whatever you have to say, was more frightening, Heather realized, than seeing Harry so mad that he could kill. The fierce anger in some way had to be better than the cold look he had adopted at the current time.  
  
He blinked once, than twice. And finally a third time. After this, he closed his eyes for a little longer than a blink and opened them again. He then spoke in a calm so emotionless that it was actually very frightening and shook everyone who heard it to the core.  
  
"So, by my calculations, you have known me for about 5 minutes at most, and you have already figured all of this out about me. How very nice of you to decide that you know this. Hey, if that is the case, could you tell me everything else about me? And could you tell me the winner of the World Cup as well. Considering you know all and everything." Harry stood there for a moment, staring at Tim.   
  
"You know nothing about me, and don't assume you do. Because believe me, everything that you think you know about me, is lies. And Heather is the last person in the world I would wish a rape upon, nonetheless attempt upon her. But I figure, no one can really seem to understand that I do not have any disgusting ulterior motives." And Harry turned and began to walked from the theatre. "But since it seems that I can not be friends with any female without the intent to *RAPE* her, then I figure I'll just go back to good old Number 4 Privet Drive and get myself locked back into the cupboard under the stairs again, that way I won't be a hazard to your wonderful little group and all the females in Little Whinging.  
  
Everyone looked at the door that was swinging shut behind Harry, and then to Tim. There were many cold stares that watched him, and one not so cold. No, this stare was burning hot. Burning hot with anger, rage and hate. "How the fuck could you say that? How could you even think something like that? Accusing Harry of…intending to rape me? What the hell was in your head?" Heather was so mad that her body was actually quaking slightly. She turned form Tim, too mad to look at him.  
  
"You know, there are some things you fail to understand or remember. The first being, if I recall correctly, it was your little idea bout this little non-exclusive relationship, and I see you getting full use out of it. And now that I have gotten a friend, nothing more than a friend, but no less a than a very close one, you start completely flipping out and getting all Over-protective Parent on me.  
  
And secondly, you need to get all of your facts straight before you say anything. I mean, do you even know what Harry has done for me?" There was a dark and resentful snide look on Tim's face, which was soon gone as Heather continued.   
  
"Do you even know how bad that could have hurt him, accusing him of trying to rape me? Of course not, Because you don't think. And you're never there. Always with those other girls that you're with. That's why, on my birthday, my god-damn birthday, I spent the day in the hospital without a word from you about anything, not even a card. And you know who was there for me in that hospital? Harry. That's right, Harry."  
  
"Why were you in the…"  
  
"If you really cared about me, you would have asked already. Really, if you cared, you would have at least remembered my birthday enough to think, 'hey, its my girlfriend's birthday today. Why don't I call her to see what's up.' But that is way too far beyond your level of sensitivity."  
  
"You didn't answer my question…"  
  
"For your information, Timothy, Harry got me to the hospital, after he saved me from being raped!" Everyone in the group was standing still in shock. "And he did it at a great personal risk to himself. He saved me from, and also beat the hell out of, his own cousin. Which is why he is staying with me. Because otherwise he would likely be beaten to death for trying to save me. That's how he got that scar on his eye. His relative's thanks to him for beating their son up and getting him kicked out of preppy spoiled-boy private school. Oh yeah, you go to one of those, don't you."  
  
"I'll make it up to you. We can go anywhere, do anything…"  
  
"That is o typical of you Tim. You hold your money over people. Here's news. You can't buy people, you can't buy love, and you sure can't buy me! You screw up royally, and then you try and buy your way out of your problems. Because that's all you are, money. You are the flashy car, the 200+ pounds haircut that really doesn't look all that great anyway, the games and the purchasing. You have no substance. No love. No anything.   
  
You aren't there. You weren't there when I needed you. When I had to walk myself home because you were taking 'swimming lessons' from your Swedish instructor, knowing damn well you would never get in the water without something coving your oh-so-precious hair. Learned the breast-stroke well I bet.   
  
You weren't there when I was being held down by three disgusting fat ogres, in threat of having my damned virginity taken on the ground behind Number 4 Privet drive by a boy that looked like a Beluga Whale with any eating disorder and nasty blonde hair. And no matter how much money you have, what they intended to take, there is no amount of money you have that could replace it. Ever."  
  
Heather growled lowly. Everyone was kind of at a loss, but Tim was by far the furthest gone. So he said what he hoped would make her feel better. "Who did this. I'll kill 'em. Each one of them with my bare hands…"  
  
"Please. You would never get you sweet little brow sweaty over me, nonetheless trying to do something for me. Unless of course it was helping you to get a piece of me, isn't that true Timothy. But no, don't chip one of your professionally manicured nails or fret your pretty little head about it or me. Oh no, Harry has taken care of that. All because of his good heart. He wanted nothing from me, and blamed himself for not doing more. He is worth a hundred of you, and yet, you lower him to a level of a common rapist." And with that Heather walked to the doors.  
  
"And I will not stand by and listen to it. So make sure that, after I leave and you go back to cursing his name, calling him a rapist and such, go right on ahead and curse my name as well. Call me a slut, a whore, whatever. Imagine me crawling back to you on my knees, begging for forgiveness at any cost, saying that I will do anything. Imagine me staying with you, and us being together forever. Because believe you me, in your head is the only place that will ever happen. Because you are a self-righteous bastard with no morals and no respect for anyone else. "  
  
And with that empowering speech, Heather turned and marched out of the theatre, running out to her car and starting it up. As she headed out to go find Harry, there was the ominous flash of lightning.  
  
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Harry trudged down the street, making sure he knew where he was going. He had been pacing outside of the theatre for some time, anger running through him, but self-criticism was more prominent as he wondered if that was what Heather thought. He shook his head slowly and turned and walked away from the theatre, thinking of the quickest way back to Number 4.  
  
He had been walking for a short while when two sounds made him worried. There was the deep roar of thunder, and then following that, there was the shout of "Potter!" behind him. He spun around to see the large SUV Piers had been driving coming by him.  
  
He ducked just in time to miss the large flat cricket bat that was coming at his head. He turned to moved again, and the SUV was coming at him again. He dove out fo the way this last time, and the large vehicle missed. And suddenly the downpour started, just as fast as normal England ones, out of the blue…well, gray sky, seemingly from nowhere, and coming down in sheets.  
  
Harry was soon soaked, and it was hard to see anything, nonetheless avoid the large truck. Suddenly he heard the tires screeching, but he didn't know from where.  
  
Deciding to try something, he closed his eyes and tried to throw his senses out to find where the car was coming from. And as he did this, a dark image painted itself in his head. It was all darkly colored, but like someone drawing a picture on black paper with a gold pen, the outlines of everything around him appeared on the inside of his eyelids, moving as things did, everything around him was there outside of the rain, and he actually could see everything all around him. And then he saw it. Or, he seemed to sense it.   
  
And as it came at him, he kept his eyes shut and his feet planted before diving and rolling out of the way just in time. His eyes flew open and he watched as the car spun out of control and hit a street light, which fell to the side and hit another, knocking several down until one fell and hit a petrol station and gasoline began to spurt and leak all around the car and the street, including surrounding the street lamps.  
  
Harry groaned as he realized something. Usually in rain-storms like those, the streetlights would be lit and turned up to max brightness automatically within about 3 minutes of the storm starting. Which meant he had about two before the light lit, and started sparks, which would ignite the gasoline until it got to the car, where Dudley and Piers were trapped, where there would be a resulting explosion that would kill both bots, who were panic-stricken and possibly unconscious from the collision.  
  
There was enough time for Harry to get far enough from the blast radius to be safe and seem completely uninvolved, or he could risk his life to save two of the three boys that had tried to take advantage of Heather and do something truly vile. He felt bad enough being accused of thinking to do it, so he knew how sick it would make anyone about get be raped, and he knew that the rapists, or attempted rapists, deserved their just desserts. So Harry looked on, time ticking by as his decision was needed, and he held two lives, possibly three in his hands. It was all up to him.  
  
He shifted his weight to one side and brought his hand up to his chin. He sighed and said, "Hmmm, decisions decisions…."  
  
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Soon enough there was the sound of a huge explosion rocking the entire street as a large SUV shot easily 20 feet into the air, charring completely. And as the police arrived to see what happened, the observed the wreckage. A cadet observed the wreckage and then called the captain.  
  
"Sir, there's something in the car I think you should see."  
  
The tall bald black man walked over to said cadet and looked over to him. The younger man pointed to the car, which had literally flipped over onto its top after being launched into the air. The man stopped down and looked under the car, and soon shot right back up and turned away. "Oh dear lord. Someone get me forensics down here. And tell them they have a lot of work to do."  
  
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A/N: And the all-Powerful self-proclaimed lord of cliffies strikes again. This story is just begging for them, so I feed the needy. See, this story is getting pretty dark, with a lot of relationships stuff. What do you all think about my little crew of new characters. Please let me know what you think about each of them, Robin, Kirstin, J-Roc, Lindsey, Zoe and Tim, in your review if you can.  
  
Here is something I have noticed. Each of my stories have little hints to what I have been watching recently, as a similar sub-plot like element will be there. Some are more pronounced than others, as exhibited by the easily recognizable muses for Eclipsing Shadows (Fast & the Furious, Real World, Random interesting horror movies, Mystery stories, and some soap operas, don't ask why. And there is one more, but I can't tell you all that.) to the more discreet ones for…, wait, I'm not discreet, not my style. Never mind.  
  
Anyway, the beginning of this story is beginning to reflect a similar thing to this show I am watching now called "The O.C." to anyone who hasn't watched it, its pretty good. To those of you who have seen the show, J-Roc is taking on the roll of Seth, and the others should be easily figured out. There will be something like the Debutants' Ball in this story, only with the psycho twist only I can do, I hope…  
  
So, please tell me what you think of this story, and any suggestions. Thanks,  
  
TK  
  
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	5. Chapter 5: Decisions and Aftermath

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Last time on Secrets of Hogwarts…  
  
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And as it came at him, he kept his eyes shut and his feet planted before diving and rolling out of the way just in time. His eyes flew open and he watched as the car spun out of control and hit a street light, which fell to the side and hit another, knocking several down until one fell and hit a petrol station and gasoline began to spurt and leak all around the car and the street, including surrounding the street lamps.  
  
Harry groaned as he realized something. Usually in rain-storms like those, the streetlights would be lit and turned up to max brightness automatically within about 3 minutes of the storm starting. Which meant he had about two before the light lit, and started sparks, which would ignite the gasoline until it got to the car, where Dudley and Piers were trapped, where there would be a resulting explosion that would kill both bots, who were panic-stricken and possibly unconscious from the collision.  
  
There was enough time for Harry to get far enough from the blast radius to be safe and seem completely uninvolved, or he could risk his life to save two of the three boys that had tried to take advantage of Heather and do something truly vile. He felt bad enough being accused of thinking to do it, so he knew how sick it would make anyone about get be raped, and he knew that the rapists, or attempted rapists, deserved their just desserts. So Harry looked on, time ticking by as his decision was needed, and he held two lives, possibly three in his hands. It was all up to him.  
  
He shifted his weight to one side and brought his hand up to his chin. He sighed and said, "Hmmm, decisions decisions…."  
  
*********************************************************************************************  
  
Soon enough there was the sound of a huge explosion rocking the entire street as a large SUV shot easily 20 feet into the air, charring completely. And as the police arrived to see what happened, the observed the wreckage. A cadet observed the wreckage and then called the captain.  
  
"Sir, there's something in the car I think you should see."  
  
The tall bald black man walked over to said cadet and looked over to him. The younger man pointed to the car, which had literally flipped over onto its top after being launched into the air. The man stopped down and looked under the car, and soon shot right back up and turned away. "Oh dear lord. Someone get me forensics down here. And tell them they have a lot of work to do."  
  
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Elsewhere, a lone figure trudged down the muddy road, water splattering on his form as he fought under the weight he carried. Two heavy bodies were not easy to support, especially in the rain. He didn't even know why he was doing it, but he knew it had to be done.  
  
Suddenly he heard the rumbling of a powerful car engine. He hadn't heard a car in a long while, so this caught his attention. He looked and saw a candy-red sports car pulling slowly over next to him. It was one he knew. And one he didn't feel like seeing at the moment.  
  
He turned back around to continue half walking half dragging the two huge loads he carried when he heard the horn. He jumped but tried to ignore it. He walked some more as the horn continued to blaze behind him, but he kept walking. He doubted that she wanted anything to do with the two he was carrying along.  
  
Soon enough he couldn't ignore her as she jumped out of the car and ran over to him. "Harry…what happened…"  
  
And then she saw the two he was carrying. And her jaw fell. And she glanced up to Harry, and nothing came from his mouth, and the blood from a wound on the side of his head inching down his face with the rain, splinters of wood sticking from the blood like beacons.  
  
Heather's eyes began to moisten, which went unnoticed as the rain fell. And she knew that all three needed help. But she didn't care about the two huge boys, just Harry.  
  
"What…How…"Heather was confused slightly by their whole situation.  
  
"There were three of them. That other boy was in the back. He attacked me when I tried to get him out."  
  
"No, tell me everything." Heather said solemnly as she hit the gearshift, speeding the car down the slick road toward the hospital that was becoming all too familiar.  
  
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Harry informed Heather of how the situation came about. And then he sighed deeply, looking to the back of the car and the boys laying there. Heather pulled out a blanket and spread it in the back, covering the white interior with it before they were laid there.  
  
"So, I had to decide whether to save them or not. I thought not to, after what happened to you, or what they tried to do, but something in me reminded me that Dudley was family, and they were humans and deserved to live.  
  
So I headed toward them. I ran as fast as I could an pulled at the driver's door. I got Piers out, and was in the process of pulling Dudley over the divider and out of the driver's door when the guy in the back attacked me. First with his fists. I got Dudley out and was trying to find a way to get him out when he hit me in the side of the head with the cricket bat. I tried some more, but he kept hitting and I had to get the other two to safety.   
  
Eventually he worked his way out and was coming toward us when he turned around. He climbed back in the car as if reaching for something, when the car exploded. We were just far enough away I guess, so I hoisted these two oafs so I was supporting them kind of and started walking. Soon enough they both kind of physically collapsed on me, so I kind of had to drag them. It was easier because of the rain, but no one wanted to stop."  
  
Harry lowered his head and sighed loudly. He stared at the glove box for the rest of the ride, and Heather said nothing.  
  
Upon arrival to the hospital, they left the two boys in the hospital's care, and Harry insisted they leave. He said that he needed sleep. Heather complied and took him back to her house. He thanked her for letting him meet her friends and trudged up to the guest bed room. He collapsed on the bed before he could even get more than his shirt off and was too tired to dream even.  
  
Nightmares were a different story.  
  
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The trees were moving by much to quickly to even comprehend that they were different trees. They may have been imply one long one for all that mattered. But suddenly, as if someone put on the air brakes, it all stopped. Harry looked and found a huge circle of dark figures. They were inhumanly tall, and had no feet, but instead floated inches above the ground. They were all facing each other, and seemed to be converging on a simple form, a shivering shaking small form that Harry didn't recognize, the face was blurred oddly.  
  
And suddenly the large creatures, surely Dementors all turned to him. They looked to him and for the first time, Harry knew they were looking at him. For he could see their eyes. Frighteningly empty, and dead. Cold metallic, emotionless eyes. A frightening pale blue. And around them, a deep red where human eye whites should have been, And most frightening of all, glowing green pupils. They were the most hideous and fear-inducing things he had ever seen. Until then. Because the thing that came next was much worse.  
  
They all began to walk toward him. And the most odd thing happened. They spoke. Chilling words, dark and cold like millions of tortured souls screaming at once, all reliving their most painful moment times 1000 through the voices of the dark creatures.  
  
"You must die. You must be destroyed. And with your life we will live. We will live again. You will die. You young King Incarnate, will be destroyed. And we will rule."  
  
And they came at him.  
  
And suddenly the Light came. It was blinding, warm, and oddly enough, it was speaking as well. Or, a voice was coming from it. A smooth, soft sweet angelic female voice. But Harry could not understand it. It sounded like, singing.  
  
Singing he had heard before…  
  
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And his eyes cracked open slowly. He did not know what awoke him but he got up anyhow. He looked around and found himself once more in the guest room at Heather's house, but something knew was heard through the open door of the room.  
  
Laughter. Laughter and voices that he recognized from the night before. And without thinking Harry headed downstairs, a slight smile on his face as he realized that he'd get a second chance to make a first impression.  
  
And as he came down the stairs, he made more of an entrance than he intended to. For in the room, all the girls sat in a circle on the floor, while J-Roc was stretched on the couch over them, glancing between the TV and whatever they were doing.  
  
And as soon as he came in, the girls' conversation died off and they all just looked up to him, staring.  
  
Harry looked at them and then to his left and then his right. And then he looked to himself. Normally he would have blushed, but he figured he really had no reason to. Seems that that one day of yard work had been enough to tan the boy considerably, well, not considerably, but enough so that he was not candidate for Vampire look-a-like of the year. And it seemed the tanning showed off the muscles he had from a combination of years of yard work and a strict Dudley diet.  
  
Outside of that, he didn't know if it was the lighting or something, but he looked a lot different than he knew he did, even the night before when he went to sleep. And oddly, he was seeing the world from higher up than before.  
  
"Good morning all." Harry greeted cheerfully and then walked by them and into the kitchen. He withdrew a glass and filled it with water. He downed the glass and refilled another. He did this about 4 times before he set the glass down finally in the sink and sighed, wiping his mouth. He turned and headed back toward where everyone else was. He heard muffled arguing between Heather and the other girls, but it stopped before he started to pay any attention to it.  
  
And as he walked in the room, he observed the girls on the floor as they looked up to observe him.  
  
Robin was currently laying back against the couch J-Roc was laying on, his arm hanging off the side and over her shoulder, and she held said hand and seemed to be massaging it or something. Robin and J-Roc were watching some kind of music channel, but Harry couldn't recognize anyone on the screen.  
  
Lindsey was still sitting in the same circle of girls with a magazine in her lap. Harry came in and a blush spread on her face and she brought the magazine up to cover her face.  
  
Zoe and Kirstin looked up at him. And both smiled mischievously. And Zoe spoke. "Hey Kirstin, I think we should start a game. You know, a little Truth-or-Dare. Find out a little about Harry." Kirstin had a similar grin on her face as she nodded.  
  
"How about it Harry?" Kirstin asked. "it's a little tradition in the group."  
  
Harry looked between the two girls and shrugged before sitting down in front of them. They looked to each other and grinned before pulling out two cell phones and making calls.   
  
They spoke in fragments of sentences and Harry missed either thing, but soon enough the girls had hung up and were smiling at each other and then darkly at him. He swallowed audibly when there was frantic knocking on the door.  
  
Kirstin hopped up, being closest to the door, and answered it, letting two other girls in.  
  
They were fairly pretty, similar looking with long brownish-blonde hair, low-rise hip hugging jeans, and cut off shirts. They had nice curves and pretty eyes, and seemed to be twins with the giggling and such that ran through them sounded identical. He would have gotten confused, had it not been for one factor. One girl wore a pink shirt that had white writing on it similar to the kind Harry had seen done in alleyways with spray cans that said Sam, and the other had a similar shirt, though light blue, that said Jamie on it.  
  
They both looked him up and down and cracked like devilish smirks. Sam walked out and held out her hand in a handshake like gesture. "hi, I'm Samantha-Ryn. Everyone calls me Sam though." she said, gesturing her hand at her chest where her name was written. Harry nodded and smirked, taking her hand and kissing it on the knuckles gently. She blushed and stepped back.  
  
Next Jamie stepped up. She was blushing already, and seemed oddly uncomfortable with what she was wearing it seemed. Harry didn't know how he could tell, but he knew that she was more tomboy-ish and not as outgoing as her sister. But she smiled all the same . "Hi, I'm James, yeah I know it's a guy's name, not my fault, so everyone calls me Jamie." She smiled insecurely until Harry simply smiled at her and nodded before taking her hand, which she stuck out hesitantly and kissing it on the knuckles as well, smiled at her and keeping eye contact as he did.  
  
"Calm down there mister, these two really don't need you badly influencing them, especially Jamie there. She's the star of the football (soccer) team around her, and her sister ain't half bad either, but they are good church girls, and you shouldn't corrupt them" Kirstin spoke mockingly.  
  
"Yeah, that's our job!" Zoe said, hopping up and smiling as she ran between Jamie and Sam and put her arms over both their shoulders. She winked at Harry before turning to Jamie and kissing her on the cheek, and then doing the same to Sam. She then took them over to the floor where they all sat in a circle. Heather moved into the circle kind of grudgingly, but Robin declined, as did J-Roc, seeming they were too preoccupied with…other things.  
  
Namely, each other.  
  
So Harry sat down, the girls staring at him with varying degrees of intensity. And as Harry looked around, he observed the looks.  
  
Zoe and Kirstin both had a kind of hunter-look to them, similar to the look Harry had seen lions adopt when looking to their prey on the animal shows Dudley used to watch. The fat oaf would cheer the lions on as they chased down their prey, and Harry knew that the large boy would do just the same and hunt down his food, where he able to actually remove himself from the couch without losing breath.  
  
Jamie and Sam for the most part seemed only moderately intrigued by Harry, but seemed more interested in thinking up things to do to him, than actually thinking about him. Harry heard pieces of ideas, something concerning "7 minutes", a closet, "Heaven" and other random ideas.  
  
Heather was looking off out of the window, seemingly thinking of other things. But as he observed her, how the sunlight reflected from her eyes in an eerie light and made her entire body glow an indeterminable color, she turned to him. She smiled at him and looked at him for a bit, tilting her head to the side as she did as though trying to figure something out about him. But soon enough she blinked a sort of blink of deciding something, and turned back to looking out of the window.  
  
And finally Harry's eyes fell on Lindsey. She had apparently given up on the reading thing and had settled on doing the same thing Harry was doing, observing everyone. However, as it seemed, she had yet to move her eyes away from Harry. She seemed to be studying him a great deal. And as her eyes traveled up his body and fell on his eyes, she immediately blushed as she realized he was watching her watch him.  
  
Harry smirked a bit, looking at her. She was wearing another pull over sweatshirt that fell to around her knees even as she sat down, and a simple pair of jeans. Her mostly curly but slightly bushy hair was in a ponytail, and the blush was seeming to enhance the overall…cuteness…she held.  
  
Harry laughed to himself slightly, and realized all too late that it had escaped from his mouth just enough to jolt the other girls out of their conversations and turn them on him. Big Mistake.  
  
"Well, since Harry is so happy and ready to begin, why don't we start. I'll begin." Zoe spoke, but it sounded almost like a growl of a cat in the back of her voice. "So Harry, truth or dare?"  
  
Harry looked around the circle at all of the people, and remembered the last time he had played the same game.  
  
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A/N: Lets just say for pity's sake on my poor fingers, that Harry had a not so wonderful experience with this game in the past, but Dudley had worse fun. Harry's first experience into seeing that not everyone loved Dudley.  
  
Moving on…  
  
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"Okay Harry, here's my question…" But Zoe had to stop as someone else began knocking on the door. She moved to get up, but Heather was up already, having gotten up to get a pillow to sit on the floor on while Harry reminisced.  
  
Heather opened the door, but because of where everyone was sitting, no one could really see who it was. And it didn't matter much anyways, because soon the door slammed and Heather was walking back to the game, trying to look perfectly fine, as if nothing happened, but they all figured someone was at the door that she hadn't wanted to see.  
  
And as they tried to ask, more banging on the door. And this time a voice all of them heard from behind the door. A voice they all recognized.  
  
"Heather, come on babe. You know I didn't mean it. I'm sorry. I really am. Just let me in."  
  
They all sat there staring at the door. And the banging got louder and louder, and Heather seemed to have no intention of going to the door.  
  
"Heather, do you want me to…" Kirstin started, motioning to the door. Heather shrugged and turned her back to the door, folding her arms. So Kirstin stood and headed for the door. Harry had stood at this point and was going over to talk to J-Roc about whatever it was the boy was watching when Kirstin opened the door.  
  
So the sight Tim saw when the door opened was Kirstin standing there scowling, and Harry standing there in the house with no shirt on. From the view Tim had of the house, the only people he knew was in the house was Kirstin, Harry and Heather. And Harry's state of undress seemed to aggravate him.  
  
However, Kirstin cut him off before he could even start up. She was speaking to him calmly, and kind of lowly, so only she and Tim could hear. It was clear she was mad at things he had said, and every time he tried to talk, she cut him off.  
  
Finally his butting in irritated her until she spoke loud enough for the now quiet room to hear.  
  
"Look Tim, go home. Now. Go home before you do something even dumber than you did before. Trust me, now is definitely not the time to try and say anything to her. She is mad, and damn rightly so, especially with what you said about her and Harry. So its best that you just walk away right now, especially before Robby gets back here."  
  
Tim seemed to take this pretty well actually outside of his downtrodden look. He nodded and walked from the house and down the walkway.  
  
But as he did, he seemed to catch Harry's eyes. Harry didn't know how, but the look Tim gave him pissed him off, a lot.  
  
It made him kind of feel like the temperature in the entire house go up, and his eyes darken. He began to get really hot, and his breathing deepened. So he walked out of the door to breath.  
  
He stepped out onto the porch and closed his eyes. He sucked in the crisp cool air, which still tasted of the previous night's rain.  
  
And suddenly he seemed to feel it. He really didn't know how or why. But he did. It felt like his body was telling him something, and every muscle in his body was straining at a thought in his brain.  
  
"Move"  
  
And Harry's body did just that. All on its own. And moments later, a whizzing sound passed his ear. He heard breathing near him, and he could actually almost feel where the source was.  
  
He heard rustling of some kind of fabric and then the whizzing sound, and once more his body moved, his eyes still shut. He had an idea about who it was that was seemingly attacking him from the smell of over-used aftershave and tennis-balls. But soon enough Harry was able to be sure who it was because of the voice.  
  
"Dammit you bastard, fight me. Don't stand there taunting me, fight me!"  
  
Harry's eyes opened to this time see Tim's fist glide past his head. He looked to Tim in a look of pity before turning and heading for the door of the house.  
  
And as he was going in, Tim muttered in between his deep breaths, "coward"  
  
Something was set off in Harry by this word that he wouldn't have expected. Pure rage. And he soon realized why. He did not take well to being called a coward, because he was already beating himself up about that. And sadness filled him as he thought of how, if he was more courageous, Sirius would still be alive.  
  
And this train of thought was the wrong one to get on, because its destination was an emotion no one had ever seen Harry Potter overcome by.  
  
Pure, unadulterated hatred.  
  
Harry turned around to look at Tim. He didn't realize he had left the door open in doing this.  
  
"What. Did. You. Say." Harry spoke each word as if it was another sentence, a deep breath taken every time he said each word.  
  
Kirstin had gotten up to see why the door was open. She looked out of the door to see Harry standing in front of the door, his back to her. It was odd, but something about him was different. The muscles in his back were tensed and visible to her, and his hair seemed like living fire made of darkness as it seemed to move in non-existent wind. But something was odd about him. His fists were clinched at his sides, and dropping from each palm every so often were deep red drops.  
  
Kirstin turned and motioned for everyone to come, and as she did this, Tim answered Harry's question. "I called you a fucking coward, because that's what you are. If you're gonna steal my girlfriend, and be such a hero to her, then at least take my pride with it why don't you?"  
  
Harry looked at Tim, and realized as he said this, that the boy was hurting, and pretty damn pitiful. So Harry breathed deeply and turned to the house to go back in, seeing everyone gathered at the door.  
  
"Bastard. Running from fights. Did your parents do that too? Where are they, probably abandoned you with the Dursleys because they didn't want you. Ran from that too I bet."  
  
Harry turned around to look at Tim. If he was mad before, then they had to make a whole new emotion for what he was. His anger was radiating off of him in waves, waves that actually seemed to be manifesting themselves into physical waves that were actually distorting the world around him, causing from the air to the very pavement to ripple around him.  
  
And everyone looked on as Harry turned to look at Tim. And incredibly fast, his arm had come up from his side and slammed into Tim's face. There was a resounding crack and Tim lifted from his place on the ground and fell back onto the lawn. And Harry barely bend his knees before he leapt forward, his feet landing on either side of the boy's body and he bent down and was banging his fists into the boy.  
  
Tim tried to cover his body, but Harry still hammered away. Suddenly Heather tore away from the spectators and ran over to Harry. She grabbed him around the middle, trying to pull him back, but he was still hammering at Tim. But suddenly he stopped as if he realized Heather was there. He turned to look at her and stopped hitting Tim.  
  
Looking back at Tim as the boy tried to get up with only one hand as he tried to cover up his bruised and broken face. "Don't ever, in your life, call me that again. And never again make assumptions about my parents. I don't know how you got information on me at all, but don't think you know me. You don't know shit!"  
  
Tim mumbled something through the blood in his mouth that no one got, all but Harry apparently. Harry broke away from Heather and grabbed Tim's collar. Taking two fistfuls of the boy's sweater-vest and button-up shirt, he lifted the boy up to a standing position. No one really knew when it had happened, but Harry was slightly taller than Tim, so Tim's heels were being held off the ground so he could look Harry in the eyes.  
  
Harry didn't even say anything, he just pushed. Tim flew back for a bit and landed on the border of the lawn and the pavement of the sidewalk. He rolled over and hit his head on the door of his car.  
  
He struggled to get up, but got the door opened and stumbled into the car. He started the car and sped away, still trying to stop the bleeding from his nose.  
  
Harry watched him go, and then walked past all of them into the house, up the stairs and into the room he was using. Seconds later the door slammed painfully loudly and the group was left in the living room, as they had been moments before minus Harry.  
  
"So…uh, I guess the game Is off then." Zoe said, shrugging slightly before slipping onto the floor next to Robin in front of the couch, snatching the remote from J-Roc and channel surfing.  
  
Heather was left thinking about what she had just seen. Kirstin seemed to notice this. "Look Heather, don't worry about it. I've gone to school with Tim since like primary school, you know that, that's why I'm the one who mediates you two. But you shouldn't worry. If anyone deserved that, it was Tim. If you should worry about anyone now, its either yourself or Harry."  
  
And Heather was worrying about Harry, but not worrying about anything having to do with him and Tim. No, it was something else.  
  
She wondered why, the moment she wrapped her arms around him, she could literally feel every single thing he was feeling. And why she could see flashes of memories not hers.  
  
And why, above all,  
  
Had she felt surrounded by a sea of darkness and cold that was penetrated by a golden light and singing.  
  
Singing she recognized…  
  
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A/N: There, another chapter. Sorry it took this amount of time, but there are something things I have had to deal with recently, including school and ex-girlfriends who I get to see everyday at school. Oh the joy! Anyways, here's the chapter, and everyone was talking about how much they want Tim getting his arse kicked and so on and so forth, I decided to feed the need.  
  
I realized what other element this story is taking on, and I love the idea. Basically there is the golden light that Harry has to get to from the sea of darkness or whatever, with the singing he recognizes.  
  
But we will see, that that is not the only cylinder of light. And there is something about this other one that is different. But this story is not going to be a crossover, but I will be borrowing elements from a few shows, movies, and a few video games, especially a newly released sequel I happen to enjoy playing a lot. Major props to anyone who can tell me what game I am leaning at. Its not easy, but just seeing if anyone knows. It involves fighting, and a big element of light and dark fighting.  
  
Okay, uh…comments are welcomed, and please bare with me, I have a few issues on my mind now. But the stories will regain their update momentum.   
  
I don't like begging for reviews or anything, just please let me know what you think, And if I can, by some miracle, get to 100 reviews with this chapter, good reviews with solid comments and such, not those, "good work, update" things please, the next chapter will not only be longer, but will begin to introduce major plot elements that would otherwise only show up in like 5 chapters.   
  
Please comment on the story and things you like, dislike, whatever, the little one word reviews are a bit of a waste to me in a way, but whatever works for you, all are helpful and I am thankful for each one.   
  
Thanks!  
  
Again I say I hate begging for reviews, but please please please go read Eclipsing Shadows, another story I am working on. The storyline for this story as it gets into the true story is the best one I have besides this storyline, maybe better, with a lot of mystery, action, romance, some comedy and a good story I think. Please check it out, you'll be glad you did I believe, and possibly let me know what you think of it.  
  
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	6. Chapter 6: Hanging Out

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Harry sat on his bed, contemplating every thing that had just occurred. It was odd how it had come to be, but he had literally snapped as soon as Tim had said those words referring to his parents.  
  
And it was very odd, but the way he felt as a person changed. It was interesting, but literally he sensed the feelings of every living thing around him, and his body seemed to draw on all negative feelings around him. It was almost like he was growing stronger by feeding off of the anger and pain and hatred around him. And with the situation he had been, unbeknownst to the blonde,  
  
Tim was literally acting as a sort of an electrical plant feeding Harry energy.  
  
But as Harry sat there, the energy high he had been on began to fade, and suddenly he found himself wanting sleep, and finding the light creeping in through his windows all too bright.  
  
So after getting up and closing the curtains over the window, he laid down for a "short rest"  
  
Not knowing this "short rest" would lead to a revelations that would take so much longer to become clear.  
  
*********************************************************************************************  
  
The darkness was returned. It was cold as ever, and the haunting sounds all around him were amplified. The screams and the moans and the overall feeling of millions dying simultaneously was worse than before.  
  
But there was something happening. It was easy to feel the moment the darkness became clear and the sounds audible.  
  
For the simple fact was, it was not so bad as before. It was odd, but it almost seemed to be getting mundane and repetitive. Because the cold wasn't quite so cold, and the screams weren't so torturous.  
  
Something else that seemed to be becoming repetitive was the golden light. It seemed to be becoming a piece of the dreams that was simply a fact.  
  
Which may have been why it was so odd that, at the current moment, there was no golden light. No where in sight in the ever-present darkness.  
  
But suddenly there was a feeling. A feeling that could almost be described as darkness turned into an emotion. It was like a combination of anger, pain, hate, gloom, depression, and others. But above even all of that, were two different ones. Power,  
  
And Evil.  
  
Glancing around, it became clear that this feeling was coming from something. An object.  
  
And suddenly there was a feeling in the chilling screams emanating from the darkness. It was like some of the darkness was getting pulled into a vacuum of sorts. There was a kind of whirlpool effect in the darkness, which was a very freaky thing to see, as the darkness seemed to be draining into an invisible drainpipe, and yet it was impossible to see through the darkness. Yet it was clear to see.  
  
And suddenly the whirlpool seemed to reverse and shoot something out of it. And what it produced was by far much weirder than anything that had occurred as of then.  
  
Shooting from the reverse whirlpool was a cylinder of light. Truthfully what it was was kind of an anti-light of sorts. It didn't shine, but seemed to actually be so much darker than even the pure darkness that it seemed to almost glow because of that fact.  
  
And as it actually seemed to come closer, Harry extended his hand. He didn't know how he was even able to do that, but his hand neared the dark light. And as he did this, he heard a deep song. It was a sorrowful song of sadness and loss. It was haunting in melody, but beautiful in its own way.  
  
And radiating from it was more hate, pain, darkness and power than Harry had ever felt before. And as he touched it he felt some of the darkness in his. He felt it moving through his being and into him.   
  
And like a freezing, burning clawed metallic hand, something gripped his heart and the most beautiful serene sense of power, great power, it actually felt as if he was invincible in a way, and with this feeling…  
  
Came the most terrible pain he had ever felt in his life. The pain seemed to offset the feeling of power in a way that he generally felt the same as before, but he was aware of something changing in him.  
  
And as the hand closed in on his heart, his eyes flew open and his mouth opened for a scream which never came.  
  
And his eyes clouded over in a lack of focus, Harry was therefore unable to see the things going on in the room around him.  
  
Like the vile dark light that seemed to be running through his veins quickly. It was a dark color, but it oddly had a tinge or a deep, disgusting green color.  
  
Oddly similar to the color of Avada Kedavra…  
  
And suddenly it seemed to sink into his body and with a flash of the same deep green colored tinge over the skin around the veins that had been clear in his hands, it was gone.  
  
No trace of it, outside of one thing.  
  
An odd tinge of said coloring that ran down the scar on his face, from the two ends of it, and seemed to settle into his right eye. And that eye seemed to darken quickly, going completely black, and then lightening to a green just darker than his eyes had been.  
  
And oddly, just darker than his other eye.  
  
But it was just slightly, so it wasn't too clear a change.  
  
At least to everyone but Albus Dumbledore, who sat miles and miles away, silently observing this. Not by sight however, as, to anyone with the right amount of power and insight into things of the matter, something very big had just occurred.  
  
Because at that moment, in Harry James Potter, Voldemort a.k.a. Tom Marvolo Riddle not only gained a more powerful enemy,  
  
But arguably the most powerful ally he could ever hope for.  
  
"And let us all hope, for the sake of each and every person in this world living at the moment and for the many generations after, that the decision that is made by the boy is one that he can live with.  
  
And one the rest of us can live through…"  
  
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"You know girl, I really worry about you. I mean, that bastard comes down here, and no matter if he is apologizing or not, he came down here. And he attacked Harry! And you sit there not doing anything about it! I mean, what is wrong with you Heather?"  
  
Heather sat looking away from her friends. Zoe calmed from her angry stage of the group attack on Heather and every other thing that had gone on. They had all made their rounds on Tim, talked about how cool what Harry did to Tim. And now they had just finished up talking about how stupid Heather was for saying what she had said at the beginning of the ranting, which she repeated at the end of the ranting.  
  
"I think I need to talk to Tim. He deserves a chance to explain everything."  
  
"Ugh! You are the dumbest broad I have ever had the displeasure of meeting in my life. How…what the…what is your major malfunction?" Kirstin sighed loudly and sank back down to the couch next to Zoe, shaking her head at their friend's odd behavior.  
  
And Harry trudged down the stairs as if on cue. He had put changed quickly into a pair of simple blue jeans and a black t-shirt. He wore simple black tennis shoes on his feet and the black pullover he had was in his hand again. His hair was down and curtaining his face in a veil of darkness.   
  
And as he came down, and odd light seemed to come from his right eye, a dark shine. A similar shine, with a deep vile green tint seemed to run across his eye mirroring the scar over the same eye. It was a very sinister look, as the black he wore seemed to only make the vibrantly dark colored glow stand out more.  
  
And as he descended the last step to finally stand on the same level as everyone else, the light coming in from the widows finally touched his face and broke the wall of darkness covering his face.  
  
And as the light showed his face to them all, something odd happened. Where as he looked frighteningly sinister in his descent down the stairs, the second the light touched him, his face was revealed to be far from looking sinister or evil. For an odd smile was present on his face. It was genuine in essence, but there was a mocking, almost sarcastic quality about it.  
  
He looked intently at each of them as if he was thinking about something, smile disappearing completely as he looked to each of them, and when his eyes fell on Heather, he glanced at her a bit more carefully, as if he couldn't figure something out about her. But soon he just looked away from her as well and went back to just looking in the general vicinity of the group.  
  
"I know none of you all planned to just sit around here all day, so what's planned. I'm dying to go do something."  
  
Everyone looked around, as if not understanding what Harry said. Heather opened her mouth, obviously to remind Harry how his actions had put a hamper on anything they had all intended to do that day, but Kirstin cut her off.  
  
"Well, us girls were going to find some stuff to wear, since we are going to a party later in the week at Lindsey's cousin's house. You could come…" but Harry cut her off abruptly by shaking his head. He had had his fair share of shopping and such.  
  
"Well, I was just going to go down to LWR to get a new metal studded wristband, and then go over to the music shop to see if they finished the adjustments on ol' Kris."  
  
"Sounds good, but, uh…who's Kris?" Harry asked. At this Kirstin rolled her eyes. She answered for J-Roc.  
  
"it's a very sad fact that I am related to him at all, but my dear dear brother Justin," at this J-Roc growled lowly at the mention of his real name. "names his instruments. Has since he was small. We think its his way of dealing with the fact that his imaginary friend Kris ran away when he was small. He said she didn't run away, but became part of his guitar, but we all know that's a load of bullsh-" at this J-Roc growled.  
  
"Can't you ever shut up? I mean, he asked me last time I checked, and I really don't appreciate your big mouth always talking. Don't you have something else to do than worry about my life?"  
  
At this he turned to the door, heading out, Harry following behind him.  
  
J-Roc stood on the porch for a moment, fuming and muttering curses and insults about his sister. Soon enough he turned to look at Harry. "Ready to go?"  
  
Harry nodded slowly and they headed down the street. "We're gonna head over to my house for a minute. I'm gonna borrow my sister's car, she won't need it, they're all taking Heather and Zoe's cars to go 'shopping' later."  
  
Harry ignored the way he said the word shopping, and they walked the few blocks to J-Roc's house. Harry making mental note of the large lumbering teenager trying to be inconspicuous in trailing them, the midnight-haired teen not completely sure how he knew this, how he could simply sense it…  
  
*********************************************************************************************  
  
They made it to the moderately large two-story house, colored in nice earth tones. There was a nice looking sedan parked in front of the house, but outside of that the house looked deserted at the moment.  
  
Walking up to the house J-Roc opened the door and led Harry up the stairs. They went to the second floor, where they entered a deep burgundy colored room. It was clear to Harry who's room it was before they even entered as the door had many little signs "discouraging entry" to anyone but the room's owner, to put it nicely. And as they entered, the punk-rock image around -Roc seemed to be present, but not a dominant factor as one would think.  
  
The room was decorated artfully considering it was a teenage male's room, and was relatively orderly. But the thing that was arguably the most interesting thing in the room was the side wall not taken up by the window. Because lined along the wall were guitars, electric and acoustic, of different looks and styles, and several basses on floor-mounted stands along the wall. In the spaces between the wall mounted guitars were band posters.   
  
But in the center of the wall was a huge paper. Under closer inspection it was found to be a pad of paper, about 5 feet across and 4 feet tall mounted in the center of the wall. And there was writing all over the paper. There were several rolled up papers in the corner of the room. Harry walked toward it, and J-Roc seemed to be looking for something on the other side of the room in one of the desk drawers. But even with his back turned he seemed to know where Harry was going.  
  
"That, that's called Justin's Lyric. A play off an American movie title. it's a wall where I write every feeling or idea for song lines I can think off. It helps me have a place to put my thoughts." Harry nodded, looking over several of the lines.  
  
Then he caught sight of something off to the corner. There was an alcove that he had before thought was a closet. But with the number of built-in storage drawers in the boy's room, there was no need for closets. He looked over and saw through the crack in the door. By then J-Roc had finished whatever he was doing and was turning back to Harry and saw the other boy checking it out.  
  
"That was a recent birthday present. Where my sister got her car, I got this and a few other things." He walked over and opened the door to show a room about the size of a walk-in closet. There was a small table to dials and buttons and equalizers on it, and a computer next to it.. And hanging from the ceiling was a small circular black object.  
  
"My own little recording studio. All the other equipment is packed away in the sides in the storage areas, but it has everything I need in here."  
  
Harry looked around for a bit longer before coming out of J-Roc's room. The latter followed and seemed to lock his door before they headed downstairs. He then reached into a plant next to the door and pulled out a small key ring. He jingled it on his finger, smiling. "Got these made two days after Kirstin got the car. Said I locked myself out, and the key man made me a new set. Just don't tell Kirst where I keep them." Harry nodded, smiling as well as they both walked out of the house and over to the car.  
  
Getting in, they started to drive, J-Roc opening the small backpack he had brought with him and pulling out a CD. He put it into the CD player in the car and the music began.  
  
As Harry listened, he found himself enjoying the music and the words that were being said. The instrument work sounded very interesting to him and he wondered how they did it, and soon allowed his mind to forget everything but the music and the words that were being said.  
  
*********************************************************************************************  
  
J-Roc ran into LWR, not even turning the car off as he parked. He came out a minute or so later holding a small bag in his hand. He got back in the car and put the bag in his backpack before they drove out. Harry then thought of something.  
  
"How old are you exactly?" he asked.  
  
"Well, I'm 15, and my birthday is coming up actually. Its in about 2 weeks."  
  
"If I remember correctly, Kirstin older, right?"   
  
"Yeah" J-Roc nodded.  
  
"By how much?"  
  
"A year."  
  
Harry nodded and the music was put back on the talking kind of ended as they both listened to the words of the song.  
  
Soon they pulled up to a nice building. It was clear that it was a music shop by the numerous instruments hanging up in the windows of the shop. They went in and J-Roc walked right over to the girl behind the counter. She smiled and headed to the back of the store immediately. She came back soon after carrying a large black guitar case. She handed it to J-Roc, who smiled and thanked her and paid for whatever was done. Then they started talking for a bit, something about music. This left Harry to explore the store on his own.  
  
Harry walked around for a little while, simply looking at everything near him. He picked up several books and flipped through them, most of them informational books about instruments. He wasn't paying too much attention to them until he got to a music book. It had lines across the page and small dots with tails and marks on them, the words of a song it seemed broken up under the dots, showing how it was to be sung it seemed. Harry carried the book and looked through it, unknowingly humming to himself.  
  
Humming the exact tune of the song as he looked over the notes.  
  
But soon his attention was taken away from the book on music as he saw a display set in the center of the store. It was an electric guitar. It was long and beautifully crafted, sitting in the center of a nice display surrounded by information on it.   
  
"The new Z-1900. Breeding aesthetic appeal with musical prowess to create the ultimate instrument for music fans everywhere." Harry read the first line before turning his attention back to the candy-red guitar on display. It truly was beautiful, how they mixed the red body with the white neck, making a beautiful contrast.  
  
Something in him made him reach out and grasp the guitar. He didn't know why he was doing it, but something in him was fascinated by it, and he felt the same was as he grasped the instrument as he did when he first held his Nimbus. It was a feeling of joy and belonging. But also a feeling of repetition. It felt like he had been there before, lie it was an old friend he was seeing again after a very long time.  
  
And as his fingers subconsciously began to pluck the strings as he hummed to himself. His eyes closed as his fingers moved on their own and the music resonated through him. It was an old song, but one he had heard recently, but oh song long before. It was as much a part of him as his name, his eyes, his scar, his being, and yet, he was just finding out.  
  
And as he played, his fingers moving faster and faster as he did, he unknowingly began to sing the words to whatever song was playing in his head.  
  
And as the end is near,  
  
Things will begin to become clear,  
  
My love for you remains,   
  
And will never change,  
  
And even as it seems that I am gone,  
  
I have been here all along,  
  
Watching,  
  
Waiting,  
  
Anticipating  
  
And even though it has taken a long time I finally realize,  
  
That everything I could every need,  
  
Is in your eyes…  
  
And his fingers continued the strumming and plucking of the strings, the rhythm of the song enchanting and mystical, reverberating through his very soul, and as he sang, a voice sang with him. Hearing the voice sing even after he stopped, the feeling of familiarity returned. He knew the voice from a long time before, but he couldn't remember from where.  
  
And as he finally stopped his playing with a final strum of the strings and opened his eyes, Harry finally came to a realization. He had been singing a lot louder than he though.  
  
That was the only explanation for why the girl from behind the counter, J-Roc and about 10 other customers who had come in over the course of his playing were all looking at him. And then the girl who worked there began to clap, and soon everyone was clapping, even from the short length of the song.  
  
Harry tried not to blush but failed miserably before putting the guitar back on its display stand and walking over to the stand by the door. J-Roc followed and they walked out of the store.  
  
J-Roc put the case in the backseat of the car and they drove for a while in silence. And then finally the silence got to the young rocker. "So, why didn't you tell me you could play? We could have done some songs together or something. And what was that song you were singing. It was amazing. The musical possibilities…"  
  
Harry looked to J-Roc and then out the window. "Actually I haven't touched a guitar before in my life. It just felt kinda right to me. And the song…well, the song I'm not sure. It just kinda came to me."  
  
"Well, lets head back to the house and we can see if you can play like that again. If you can, then maybe we could finally get that lead singer me and the girls have been looking for…"  
  
Harry simply tuned everything out and looked out the window. At the time he wasn't concerned about anything J-Roc was saying.  
  
He was wondering why he was feeling a deep feeling of déjà vu in him. It was confusing him, as he remembered the song. And he was also wondering something else.  
  
Why was there a feeling of someone else around him, someone he didn't know and had never been around before. It was unnerving him for some reason.  
  
*********************************************************************************************  
  
As they made it back to J-Roc's house, both became aware of a long black limousine parked in front of the house. "Damn." J-Roc spoke. Harry looked at him and the boy continued. "That's Tim's father's Limo."  
  
Harry looked over to the lone black automobile as the door on the side was opened and out stepped a fairly tall man. He seemed to show where his son got his skinniness from, as the tall blonde man straighten up as he got out of the car. It was odd, but the thin frame made him seem even taller, a slightly imposing fact.  
  
And as the man walked up the walkway of the house to stand in front of the porch, Harry got out of the car before it was parked completely. He knew the reason the mane was there was because of him, and therefore J-Roc didn't really need to be included in whatever was going to happen.  
  
As Harry neared him, the tall man seemed to be looking him up and down. "So Mister…."   
  
"Harry will do fine." Harry said, observing the man behind his sunglasses as well.  
  
"Well 'Harry', my name is…" Harry cut him off.  
  
"I know you're Tim's father. And I know you are here because of what happened today. So what did you come her to say. If you intend to sue me or whatever, I have very little money you would want, and that could help you."  
  
"Actually that wasn't the reason I came by here. I know my son is a difficult child, and down right obnoxious at times, but he is half me, so I wonder what that tells me about myself. Or my wife…" Harry grinned slightly at how lighthearted the man was about everything.  
  
"So why did you come?"  
  
"I came to offer you a job…"  
  
*********************************************************************************************  
  
"So, what was that all about?" J-Roc asked as Harry enter his room, the young rocker sitting on his bed plucking on the guitar.  
  
"Well, oddly enough, since apparently I beat the hell out of his son, he wants to give me a job were I can beat the hell out of Tim again and again. And get paid for it."  
  
J-roc stopped strumming on the guitar and just stared at Harry for a minute And then he smiled and nodded furiously. Harry smiled and then looked to the long black electric guitar sitting on J-Roc's lap. There was some feeling coming from it that was resonating in Harry's body.  
  
"Damn, its still not right." J-Roc said, placing the guitar down on the bed. Harry was still tracking the guitar with his eyes. Something about it was shaking him.  
  
"What do you mean…" J-Roc opened his mouth to answer it when he thought of something.  
  
"You wanna see if you can work your magic on it?"  
  
Harry took the guitar s J-Roc handed it to him. And as soon as he touched is, his fingers went to the strings and he began playing a super-complex set of string plucking that was shocking J-Roc. The boy was sitting with his jaw down, staring at Harry.  
  
But Harry would have never known, as at that moment there was another person's presence that was taking up his attention. Because as soon as he touched the guitar he seemed to lose all control over his hands as they began to play.   
  
And as the music went out, there seemed to be a female voice under it, speaking directly to him.  
  
"So, I guess you will be the one to save us all then. Its been a while since I have even been recognized. But what do I expect I guess considering my soul is bonded to a damn guitar for the past decade."  
  
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A/N: Okay, a new chapter. I hinted at a lot in this chapter, things that won't be revealed for a while. I have traded off some length in the story in order to allow a good suspenseful ending and to allow me to start working on either the next chapter of this or another story's next chapter. Tell me which story I should work on.  
  
What do you all think about the story so far? Should Heather go back to Tim or who should everyone end up with? What did you think about my little song verse? I am a poet, not a song writer in essence, so please hang with me as music is a big part of the story, and will be.  
  
And thank you all so much for getting the story to 100 reviews and over, thanks so much. This story seems to be getting a positive reaction, so I may have to put other projects on hold as I work on this and Roger's. let me know what you think about this too.  
  
Thanks all.  
  
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	7. Chapter 7: Revelations

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Last time on SoH…  
  
"You wanna see if you can work your magic on it?"  
  
Harry took the guitar s J-Roc handed it to him. And as soon as he touched is, his fingers went to the strings and he began playing a super-complex set of string plucking that was shocking J-Roc. The boy was sitting with his jaw down, staring at Harry.  
  
But Harry would have never known, as at that moment there was another person's presence that was taking up his attention. Because as soon as he touched the guitar he seemed to lose all control over his hands as they began to play.   
  
And as the music went out, there seemed to be a female voice under it, speaking directly to him.  
  
"So, I guess you will be the one to save us all then. Its been a while since I have even been recognized. But what do I expect I guess considering my soul is bonded to a damn guitar for the past decade."  
  
********************************************************************************************  
  
And Now…  
  
********************************************************************************************  
  
Harry almost dropped the guitar in shock, but stopped himself just in time to just simply appear to stop playing. J-Roc continued to gape.  
  
And then he spoke. And out of his mouth came some very shocking words. "Harry, I couldn't get her in tune for the life of me, and yet, you did it, and more. I haven't heard her sound so good in all the time I have had that guitar. I…I want you to hold onto her for me…"  
  
It was then Harry's turn to gape. "But…But Kirstin said how much you…but…"  
  
"Its okay. I have a few other ones around here, and I have a bass guitar. Besides, if you didn't notice, my parents are…well, lets just say my loss of one guitar isn't a big issue. My mom is a big exec. at a record label, and my dad designs super-high quality, and really expensive guitars. As a perk of that job, he gets the prototypes. Since he can't play at all, he gives them to me. Kris there has sentimental value, but little else in this market. She's obsolete in my hands, but in yours…I don't know. You two could become a great pair, and when you are famous together, I can say I hooked you two up." J-Roc grinned and Harry looked down to the guitar before smiling as well. A oddly simply but complex-seeming handshake combination ensued that Harry seemed to pick up on as if instinct. Ending with a brotherly half-embrace, they separated and Harry decided that it would be best if he headed back to Heather's house. He figured that it was time he headed back to Number 4, not wishing to overstay his welcome there.  
  
Harry slipped the strap of the guitar over his shoulder and turned from J-Roc's room. He was sure he was hearing things or something, but it became apparent as he began to walk.  
  
"I know you hear me, don't act like don't. I know you don't understand now, its ok. Just…I need you to acknowledge that you hear me. There are some things that you have to realize. Some things that have to be explained, and some things that…do you hear me!" the voice, uncovered from the music, was very smooth and definitely female. Harry wondered who she was, and almost as if she could read his thoughts, he heard, "you will soon find out."  
  
"Damn, I knew that thing was dysfunctional, its rattling and playing chords as you walk. Must be broken or something…" Harry simply nodded and they headed out of the house and back toward Heather's house.  
  
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Heather sat on her bed, her arms crossed, and a look of anger on her face. All the other girls were standing around her oddly large room, holding clothes up to their bodies and gaining opinions, often even stripping articles off to try them on right then and there, laughing about what they would do at the "party." Lindsey was standing there, on the phone, and Heather sat there, staring.  
  
"Do I really have to go to this damned party with that…ugh! That…that…" Heather had yet to finally find a word that she liked to describe the girl she had hated for a long time. It was weird that Lindsey and Heather were so close, yet Heather and Lindsey's cousin hated each other with a passion.  
  
Suddenly Lindsey hung up the phone with a slightly sullen look on her face. "Uh, have some slightly bad news about the party."  
  
At this statement all eyes were on her. She swallowed visibly and took deep breath before deciding to resume speaking.  
  
"Look, something happened with my cousin, and the party has to be moved back until after the summer ball. Literally, after, sort of after-party style."  
  
All of the girls kinda sat there staring, and Lindsey seemed to remember something as an afterthought. "My aunt thought it might be a good idea for us to all hang with my cousin, kinda get reacquainted and have some fun together. Probably tomorrow or some time, I'll let all of you know later today."  
  
All the girls nodded, an odd fact, as Heather did as well. "Let's see how the she fells seeing me now after all this time…"   
  
And as Heather planned her "meeting" with Lindsey's cousin, she heard a knocking on the door from downstairs. Heading down, she opened it to find something very weird on her doorstep. Or, someone. Someone very unexpected.  
  
"Tim?"  
  
***********************************************************************************  
  
Harry and J-Roc were walking toward Heather's house when they saw the door open as if to allow someone to leave. They quickened pace to be able to catch whoever was leaving, as to be able to get into the house without having to stand there knocking for a long while. They had stopped at a local convenience store to pick up some snacks, and to grab a black bandana, as J-Roc told Harry that he would have to have one if he was going to hang with J-Roc and be in his little rock group, currently working with the name of "Midnight's Dawning."  
  
And as they made it to the house, they both entered, allowing Sam and Jamie to leave, but as soon as they entered the house, both wanted to turn and leave, J-Roc for Harry's sake, and Harry for the sake of the person currently sitting on the couch.  
  
They looked to each other before slipping up the stairs quickly, ignoring the fact that it was impossible for Heather and her "company" to not know that they were there, but they frankly didn't care much. And as they entered the room that had served as Harry's, they turned to each other.  
  
"Persistent much?" J-Roc muttered and Harry simply nodded.  
  
"We don't like him much either." came a voice from the bed. The boys turned to find Kirstin, Zoe, Robin and Lindsey all sitting on the bed, as if waiting for them to come back.  
  
"You don't? So why don't you like, talk her out of dating him or something?" Harry asked in slight confusion. "You are her best friends, right?"  
  
All the girls nodded, and then Robin decided to speak first. "Heather is stubborn. She wants something, she will do all she can to get it, plain and simply. She is competitive, headstrong, and damn smart. All these things together can lead to a very bad combination if she sets her sights on something that's really bad for her. Like that bleach-head in there." All the other girls nodded in agreement, several of them smirking and such.  
  
"Which is where you come in." Zoe commented. Harry looked at her in confusion, so she continued. "Look, we all hate Tim. He's a bastard and he deserves what's coming to him, what you did to him, and more. But one thing he doesn't deserve, is Heather."  
  
"So what do I have to do with this?" Harry asked simply. At this Zoe and Kirstin adopted identical smirked.  
  
"We will use you as bait if you will. You will get Heather the hell away from Tim. Be it that she ends up with you, okay, but as long as she is away from that human slime, we're happy."  
  
"So how am I supposed to do anything about that? What am I gonna be able to do to stop her from getting back with Tim? And why have you picked me, how do I qualify?"  
  
"Well, at the moment, you don't qualify. You aren't what we envisioned for Heather either, but you are much better than Tim. And with our training and tutorage, you will be just fine for her."  
  
"Just 'fine'?"  
  
"Yeah, we see very few people good enough for Heather. Think of us as the "father" type, no one's good enough for 'our baby.' Good enough would basically be either a male version of me or Zoe. No offense to the other girls, but we have been her oldest and most loyal friends, since she was really young and we know most things about her. We know more about her than anyone, and stuff like that. But if you let us, we can turn you into a good combo of our knowledge and personalities mixed with your being and Lindsey's brain."  
  
"But what kinda gives us a right to decide if he is good enough for her?" Harry enquired.  
  
The girls looked between each other before Zoe spoke, very lowly. So low no one really heard her. Harry asked her to repeat it, and she looked up at him and sighed. "He hits her. Not often, but it became a habit back in America a few years ago, we found it all out on one of our visits. She was in a bad slump of depression after her grandma died, and he used that to make her his temporary slave, and almost beat her into giving up her 'maidenhood' as she calls it at times. We stopped it just in time, but he still threatens her like that every so often. But she swears she's in love and won't leave him.  
  
So far though, you have been the only one she really opened up to quickly, and we know she's attracted to you as a person physically and mentally, so all we have to do is be able to keep him away long enough for us to make you 'perfect' for Heather."  
  
Zoe looked close to tears as she finished, and Harry stood there, processing what he had just heard. With the way he saw things, he would be able to help Heather, as he had been unable to save her completely from the trauma of the whole "Dudley" situation as soon as he could of. Now he would be able to get her away from someone that seemed to be, and if not, had the potential to be a lot worse than Dudley.  
  
"I'll do it."  
  
And as soon as he said this, the girls all smiled. And suddenly out came a little diagram-like sheet of paper fro behind the girls.  
  
"Basically Lindsey will work with you on some basic knowledge and such, not a whole lot as she has school work to complete over the summer. Zoe and I have little to do, so you will be hanging with us the most. Don't feel bad, as, essentially, for as long as it takes for Heather to get from Tim and to you, you have two, in my opinion, damn good looking girlfriends." Kirstin winked at Harry, as Zoe took the conversation up where Kirstin left off.  
  
"Yeah, very good looking ones. But back on topic, Kirstin will be working on your look and physical actions, helping you on your physical looks and your social skills. Not saying you are an ugly social klutz, as you are far from ugly, or as it seems, a klutz, and if it wasn't for Heather being important to us, we may have to take you ourselves. But I, I get the fun job. I get to make sure you are emotionally ready for Heather. I get to make sure you don't screw up and bite her lip kissing her, or some other stupid thing like completely botch up your date or something."  
  
Harry stood there, looking at the girls. It seemed like they had everything planned out. He was going to ask about Robin, but her and J-Roc were flirting around again, so he decided not to. He simply nodded.  
  
"Good, so, you'll be here tomorrow , right?"  
  
"No, I'm heading back to Number 4. I think its for the best. Speaking of that, I had better head back there now, that's why I came back up here, to get my stuff." The girls all nodded and then saw the black guitar in clear view on his back.  
  
"Uh…Harry, why do you have that wretched guitar of my brother's? What do you need with a guitar that can't be tuned. And speaking of that, I never knew you could play!" Kirstin rambled off. This brought J-Roc back into the conversation and he detailed the events of the last few hours. The girls kinda sat there in shock, and begged Harry to play. But Harry politely refused, took his stuff and left from the room, heading out of the house. Or he tried.  
  
It seems that Tim had chosen that time to go outside for a smoke. Harry walked out of the house and looked to the blonde before he grumbled and was getting ready to leave when Tim took the cigarette from his mouth and spoke.  
  
"So, what do I hear from my father when I get home today? That you are going to be my new physical trainer. What a surprise to me, the guy who just physically assaulted me on the street, a crime where I'm from, is going to be paid to do it continuously. You must be in heaven."   
  
Tim took another breath from the slowly burning cigarette, causing the embers at the end to flare slightly. He took the cigarette from his mouth and tapped it, the embers falling to the ground.  
  
"But you see, that may have worked out how you wanted it to, but that doesn't mean that everything will. Heather is mine, plain and simple. And there is nothing you can do about it." And with these words and another puff of the cigarette, Tim blew the smoke towards Harry's face and turned around, going back to ignoring the raven-haired boy.   
  
And then Harry felt it. It was the familiar, comforting and calmingly enraging cold feeling. The deep anti-light seemed to be creeping into his vision, and his anger was growing more and more.   
  
And as it grew, he moved to remove the guitar from his back, as to ensure it would not be injured in the upcoming encounter. But as soon as he touched the guitar, he felt a sapping of the deep anger and hate from his very being, and suddenly it was gone. The guitar seemed to flash a deep black coloring, and Harry stood there, looking at it.  
  
In this time, Tim threw the cigarette to the grass and turned to enter the house. But he couldn't leave without a final word. "Stay away from her. She's mine, I paid damn well enough for her, and if you know what's good for you, no, for her, you'll stay away." And he closed the door.  
  
It took all the restraint Harry had left in his body to stop him from killing Tim, and had Tim stood there for a moment longer, his over-sized head would have been deflated by the swinging guitar aimed directly at his head. Harry grunted loudly before turning and walking back toward Number 4, his newly purchased black backpack somehow containing all of his possession, and, were it not for the obvious lack of magic Harry was able to do, he would have sworn it was magically enhanced.  
  
Upon arriving at Number 4, Harry's hand went to the handle. As soon as he was thinking of the fact that the door could be locked, the handle clicked and the door swung open, the handle banging into the back of the wall, creating a slight crater in the wall. Harry ignore this fact and continued on up the stairs and up to the place he had called his home for many years. He entered his room and place the bag on his bed along with the guitar, marveling at finding that nothing in the room appeared to have been touched since the last time he was in there about a week before.  
  
After changing into a pair of sweatpants and removing his shirt, Harry laid down about to go to sleep. But before he could, he heard the voice he came to realize was coming from "Kris".  
  
"Hello then, seems you are finally alone."  
  
"Uh…who are you?" He said, almost shouting, sitting bolt upright from his bed, thoughts of sleep gone.  
  
"I am…well, I have been called Kris most of my life. I have another name, but that is for another time. As of right now, what I am is the key question.  
  
You see, this story I am going to tell you will kind of explain a common belief amongst muggle friends. I prefer to go by Disembodied Soul, but if you wanted to be crude, I guess the thing to call me would be, well, An Imaginary Friend."  
  
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A/N: Wow, Shocking! Well, the following is Kris' explanation of imaginary friends, or Disembodied Souls.  
  
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"Basically, there is a known fact that the majority of muggle children have imaginary friends when they are small. This is largely attributed to the level of imagination they have. However, the little "friends" they make up, aren't really made up.  
  
You see, there are often a number of souls made and left over without bodies to go into. This being the case, a factor of self-preservation is activated. In a way, we live without bodies, by kinda attaching out essence to children. However, it takes a certain level of imagination, and open-mindedness to be able to actually admit us to form a 'bond'.  
  
Eventually the children age to the point that they start to develop set ideas and such, and our bond decreased to the point that eventually we have to separate ourselves.  
  
This often leads to us having to join our souls to inanimate objects. I was J-Roc's 'Friend' until he aged to the point that I could no longer join with him. He held on the longest as I have known, but soon I had to Disconnect with him. Finding this guitar as he got it very early for a birthday, I joined with it, and put myself into it.  
  
Soon he was too far gone for me to be able to reach him though the music played on the guitar, and my presence had been holding the guitar together in a sense, but as soon as the connection fully died, I stopped holding on in a way."  
  
"How did you know it was me? I mean, how did you know about me?"  
  
"Well you see, There is something within you. There is something inside of you that has allowed your mind to revert to the point that you can connect with us. Also, there are a few other things in you that we Disembodied Souls, or those of us of 'The Lost' as we are often called, can feel in you, but that you must find on your own."  
  
Harry sat there, mesmerized as he held his head in his hands, running over what he just heard.  
  
"Hey kid, its okay, you can look at me once this whole time that we have been talking."  
  
Ad Harry looked up, and came face to face with arguably the most beautiful female he had ever seen in his life.  
  
Well, she was very beautiful in all he could see of her, seeing as, as he looked at her,  
  
He could see the dresser behind her quite clearly as well.  
  
And at that, Harry promptly fell back on his bed and passed out.  
  
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Harry awoke the next day, fairly early in the morning. He sat on his bed and glanced around, still trying to register the events of the day before. And as he neared the part about Kris, he shook his head, as if to clear whatever cobwebs were residing there, and he stood. And as he did, he became aware to a form right by his bed. One that he nearly tripped on as he stood, but with some kind of balance he never knew he had, he stayed balanced and actually seemed to make no noise as he stumbled along.  
  
And as he looked down at the solid form sleeping soundly next to his bed, he tried to figure out who it was. And as he looked, he realized who it was. It was clear who it was as, with every intake and outtake of breath as she slept, her sleeping form's hair changed coloring from one bright, loud shade to another.  
  
"Tonks, what are you doing here?" Harry muttered to himself.  
  
Stooping down to look at her sleeping form, she made a move and rolled over slightly, so she was facing him, in her sleep. And in the process she kicked the little desk in Harry's room and knocked some object down. Harry threw his hand out and caught the object without knowing whatever it was, and as he held it, he heard a voice.  
  
"Wotcher there Harry! Movin' so fast this early in the morn'n, could seriously mess yourself up!"  
  
"Uh, Tonks. Why are you here?" Harry muttered, staring at her in confusion.  
  
"I've been here for the past two days. 'Guess when you got in, I was out, though. Seems that the whole Department of Mysteries thing scared my parents. And being that they, or more, my father, has a great deal of power in the Ministry, I have been given 'indefinite leave with pay' for as long as I deem necessary. Time to get my life in order and such."  
  
Harry looked at her and simply cocked his head to the side. "But that doesn't explain why you're /here/."  
  
Tonks smiled a bit gravely. "Just because I'm off from Auror duty doesn't mean I am from Order duty. I am kinda your guardian for the time, as we try and figure out some legal issues currently happening."  
  
Harry nodded, as he realize the issues they would be going through. Now that Sirius was gone, and the Durselys never had real legal guardianship of him in terms of the Wizarding world, and with Voldemort getting stronger, they had to find somewhere for Harry to live.  
  
"Why you though?" Harry asked in inquiry.  
  
You didn't know?" Harry shook his head in confusion. "Sirius was my mother's brother. Meaning, as Sirius had legal guard over you, I am, in a sense, your cousin through Sirius." Harry nodded, realizing it as he was told. "We are fighting for custody of you, which brings other issues. As, Narcissa was also Sirius' sister, and they too are fighting for custody of you, and as you know, her family will have little good things to do with you if they gain custody. Other random relations are fighting, as are the Weasleys, but right now, with the amount of money the Black-Malfoys have, along with the power, they have the advantage.  
  
But for right now, I am here to watch over you until everything is sorted out."  
  
Harry looked to Tonks and simply sat there, watching her. His eyes were coming in and out of focus, and all the information he had heard was running his tired mind into overdrive. He blinked once. And then again. And finally a third time before he finally just made a slight nod of affirmation to Tonks. This seemed to make her day, as she smiled and sat up quickly, the blanket she had nicked from the linen closet down the hall slipping from her.  
  
She had been wearing one of Harry's or more accurately, one of Dudley's old shirts given to Harry. It was huge on her, and therefore seemed more like a huge dress on her, and as Tonks stood up, she looked up to Harry.  
  
"Well, that's new there Harry. Looking up at you. I barely come up to your chin now. I don't remember that being the case the last time I saw you at the platform last year…" Tonks seemed zoned out as she looked at Harry, and then smirked.  
  
"Big change there. May run into a few girls following us today, you'll soon have yourself more girls fighting for your attention without even knowing who you are." Tonks muttered in amusement, before reaching down to the hem of the shirt and beginning to lift it from her body.  
  
Harry, being caught up in remembering everything he had just heard, did not notice until the shirt was half way up her body. She wore a pair of Harry's new boxers, something he knew as he saw his backpack opened and his clothes hanging from it. And with that he promptly spun around and closed his eyes, muttering to himself random words as he tried to remember anything to stop him from remembering what he has just seen, which hadn't been too much, but more of Tonks than he had ever thought he would see.  
  
"Well Tonks, you see, well, I'll just…uh. Bye." And with that Harry turned and walked form his room, muttering to himself. "Did she really have a navel piercing?"  
  
But before he could contemplate that thought completely, he ran smack into another form. And when he looked to the person, or more truthfully, down at the person, he realized exactly who it was.  
  
But it seemed Vernon had yet to realize he was staring at his nephew, or possibly he realized it and the shock just got to him badly enough. As when he looked to Harry, something very odd happened.  
  
A noise that Harry had never expected to hear from Vernon Dursley left the large Walrus of a man's lips.  
  
A very high pitched, oddly pre-pubescent feminine-like scream.  
  
And with that, the huge man fell to the ground in a dead faint.  
  
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"What the fu…" Harry stared down in confusion as Petunia rushed from the room, the words leaving her mouth the second she saw Vernon. Then she looked to the figure standing over him, wrapped in the shadows around him, veiling him from view well, and serving to make whoever it was seem quite demonic.  
  
Petunia opened her mouth to scream when suddenly the light flicked on in the hallway and Dudley stood there, sleep showing in his eyes, And his large form stretching the boxer shorts and tight tank top he was apparently sleeping in to the point of Harry wanting to claw his own eyes out.  
  
"Potter?" Dudley asked with slight confusion in his eyes. He had seen Harry more recently than the others in his family, so his shock at the obvious physical changes in the raven-haired boy was much more concealed, as he was ready for it.  
  
And as Petunia looked to the figure that was apparently her nephew, she knew something was wrong. Very, very wrong. She was sure that the demonic form before her could not be any relation to Lily or James Potter. It was not possible. James Potter topped off at a very lanky, willowy 5' 10" by age 20, a supposed good height for that wretched sport he played. And Lily was always a fairly short, although fairly lithe and statuesque in form, she barely made 5' 4".   
  
And here stood their son, easily 6' 1" with the muscle James always seemed to lack, and looking every inch the evil, demon that they had all assumed the "vile creatures" the wizards and witches were.  
  
And with that, Petunia fell to the floor right next to her husband, her eyes glazing before they shut in unconsciousness.  
  
And as soon as Petunia hit the ground, Harry's door opened up and out stepped Tonks, finishing the last of the buttons on her tight white button up shirt.  
  
"Wow, had that much of an impact on them did you Harry?" Tonks smirked to herself as she said this. And as Harry was turning to look at her, he caught sight of Dudley, who was holding both hands in front of his, lower body, and seemed to be puttering and foaming at the mouth. And as Harry turned to Tonks, he realized why.  
  
Tonks seemed to be attempting to look every bit the 22 year old that she was. And it was working all too well for her. She wore tight-fitting faded blue jeans with a white button-up shirt that had the last few buttons undone and tied to show her flat stomach. And yes indeed, she did have a navel piercing.  
  
It seemed that she had opted for longer, deep brown hair with a slight hint of blonde shine to it, and a sprinkle of freckles across her nose. It was a very nice look on her, and for lack of a better term, Harry figured it would be easy to call her cute, but a few things about it bothered him.  
  
"Like the little piercing thing? I got it done at some shop called the Little Whinging Rebel or some odd thing. There was a girl behind the counter named Robin. Fairly nice outside of being a complete flirt. It was odd to be hit on by someone at least 5 years younger than me, nonetheless a girl who is much younger than me. It was quite fun though."  
  
And upon hearing these words Dudley turned and rushed into his room, slamming the door shut and the click was heard as the lock turned. And Harry and Tonks stood there, looking from the large boy's door to each other. And then, almost simultaneously, they both began to laugh. Loudly.  
  
And this seemed to cause the still unconscious Dursleys to stir. And because of that, Harry and Tonks stopped immediately, running from the house as quietly as possible, shutting off the hall light in the process, an action that allowed them to see the light under Dudley's door from his television.   
  
And the quiet allowing them to hear the sounds of the movie playing, something both were quite sure Dudley should not have been watching, and as they thought of what he could have been doing as he did, both had to try hard not to retch.  
  
"Harry, your family is completely dysfunctional."  
  
"Yes Tonks, I know. I know…"  
  
And then Harry saw two distinctly female forms heading from down the street toward the house. And as they neared the house, Harry knew who they were. He looked on as Kirstin and Zoe neared the house, and finally they came to a stop right in front of Harry and Tonks.  
  
"So Harry, who are they?" Tonks asked as the girls neared them.  
  
"We, we are Harry's girlfriends, and you are?" Kirstin asked oddly defensively, both looking Tonks up and down, Zoe seeming to do this with slight intrigue, while Kirstin looked more defensive of Harry in a way.  
  
"Me. I'm no one important. Just staying with Harry for a few days."  
  
"Well, if memory serves and number 4 is made the same way as number 3, seeing as that was were my old friend's house, then that house has 3 rooms. So unless you are a relative of his, then I really dislike the current situation." Kirstin muttered.  
  
"Yeah. Besides, if you really need a place to stay, I am sure you can stay at my house. We have plenty of extra space…" Zoe muttered. Kirstin elbowed her in the ribs.  
  
"Well actually I /am/ a relative of his. His cousin to be exact." At this Kirstin seemed to deflate slightly and simply nod, smiling to Tonks.  
  
"Well hello. I am Kirstin Rockburg, and this is Zoe Grayson." Tonks shook Kirstin's hand and was attempting to shake Zoe's when the girl pulled her into a hug.  
  
"Hello, I'm Nymphadora Tonks, but you can call me Dora, or Tonks, or anything else you wanna call me."  
  
"Why not Nympha?" Kirstin asked.  
  
"Sounds a little to much like Nympho, don't you think?" Tonks, or Dora, or…whatever, answered with a smirk. Kirstin smiled and nodded, while Zoe simply smirked.  
  
"Okay, now I feel left out." Harry muttered as he watched the whole conversation turn completely from anyone even noticing him being alive.  
  
"Aww…Is widdle Hawwy feewing weft owt?" Kirstin mocked, walking over to him and wrapping her arms around his neck, looking into his eyes as she pulled him down and stood up on her tip-toes. "Don't. You're still the number one reason we came over here. Outside of the joys of…" and with the next words Harry became fully aware that he was outside at the moment missing a shirt. "Seeing just how much whatever exercise you do pays off."  
  
Harry smirked and decided he was gonna play along. But before he could, Zoe spoke.  
  
"Oh, and to tell you about the little party tonight. Its some little celebration at the youth center that's been turned into a neighborhood party." Harry nodded as he listened. "And we came to give you some advice. If you want to survive and stay friends with Heather, and eventually more, then hear this. You will /seriously/ want to stay away from Lindsey's cousin at the party. They hate each other, and picking one side or the other will leave you thoroughly screwed if you pick the wrong side. And even if she thinks you are siding with Lindsey's cousin, you're a traitor in her mind."  
  
"So who's this girl I have to stay away from?"  
  
"Well, her name is…" Zoe seemed to be thinking, trying to remember. "Dammit. Kirstin, help me out here. I can't remember that wench's name for anything. You know how much I just completely hate her, seeing as she seems to have such a big issue with the way I am, so I don't give a care about her name. What is it again."  
  
"You forgetful woman. Sometimes I wonder about you." Kirstin said to her. Then she turned to Harry. "If you ever want any chance with Heather, then it would do you a great deal of good at this party to stay the hell away from…" and the name Harry heard next was one Harry never expected. And left him in a very great dilemma as he realized it all and the complications this brought.  
  
"…to stay the hell away from a girl by the name of Hermione Granger."  
  
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(A/N: Yes, Hate me! Despise me! But still love me! And do continue to read, the story picks up from here and doesn't stop for a while. Well, maybe the occasional valley for some fun side story development, but action begins, something I feel I am fairly good at.  
  
Well that was fun. Cliffies are fun to end with, because they give me a start-off point for the next chapter. They are a kind of semi-solution for writer's block. They give me the ability to have a head-start on next chapter. And by far I think this is one of the best ones I have done, after the little car-explosion thing.  
  
So, what do you all think? What about the ships. I am heading away from Harry/Hermione for the immediate future, well, any kind of mutual thing. One may like the other. Which one, should Harry like Hermione or Hermione like Harry while he falls for Heather.  
  
What should happen to Tim? Do you all hate me for what I have him doing to Heather?  
  
Overall, how does everyone generally like my story so far? I am particularly enjoying character development and such. How am I doing on that?  
  
And in general, how are the elements of the story? I enjoy writing them, and everything in the story, so what do you all think about it? Give me some ideas if you can, and thanks a lot for everything.  
  
Oh, and thanks for the review progress, and please do continue to review.  
  
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	8. Chapter 8: Party Plans

Chapter 8: Flirtatious Party Plans  
  
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Last time on SoH…  
  
"So who's this girl I have to stay away from?"  
  
"Well, her name is…" Zoe seemed to be thinking, trying to remember. "Dammit. Kirstin, help me out here. I can't remember that wench's name for anything. You know how much I just completely hate her, seeing as she seems to have such a big issue with the way I am, so I don't give a care about her name. What is it again."  
  
"You forgetful woman. Sometimes I wonder about you." Kirstin said to her. Then she turned to Harry. "If you ever want any chance with Heather, then it would do you a great deal of good at this party to stay the hell away from…" and the name Harry heard next was one Harry never expected. And left him in a very great dilemma as he realized it all and the complications this brought.  
  
"…to stay the hell away from a girl by the name of Hermione Granger."  
  
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And Now…  
  
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"…"  
  
Harry was staring forward looking much like a deer caught in headlights. He seemed to be thinking deeply and not at all at the same time. And apparently this look seemed to make Kirstin and Zoe think that he had comprehended everything, and was ready to continue.  
  
"So we just came over to tell you that, and to get you started on your first little 'lesson' with each of us. Zoe will take second run, because I need to take you on my little shopping run for the party too, and her plans were to basically give you some first hand dating experience with a member of a group such as ours. However, due to the party, this will either have to wait for after the party for some 'late-night fun', or tomorrow. So…let's go!" and with that Kirstin grasped his right hand and began to walk away from the house.  
  
Harry for the most part was so stunned, that she basically was able to drag him along for some time before he finally became aware of the world around him. And the information finally sank in.  
  
Deciding to place it back, as the second he made to bring it up, he found something very interesting. Actually, the second he opened his mouth to speak, he found something forcibly pushing its way into it. And that foreign object,  
  
Was Kirstin's tongue.  
  
And when he realized this, he stopped all thought and motion, and stood there. And as he realized that nothing that was going on was wrong, his arm slid along around her lower waist, and as soon as it grasped around her and he began to return the action, she stopped.  
  
"…Wow." Was all she said.  
  
"Yeah…"he muttered half-heartedly, not completely sure what had just happened, but wondering why he had never tried it before that moment. He grinned and then allowed Kirstin to slip away from him.  
  
"What was…" Harry stuttered, and then Kirstin turned and looked back down the street as if looking for someone.  
  
"Sorry, that was a…that was my ex, Jamison. He seems to think that I still care about him, and every time he sees me, he follows me until he stops me so he can 'talk' about us getting back together. More like beg." Kirstin muttered.  
  
"You know, this group has a whole lot of romantic personal issues."  
  
"They aren't personal anymore, they're yours' too. You are my man now. And if you think my issues are bad, then wait until you start hanging with Zoe. Half the male population of this city wants her, and I dare say a good quarter of the females too. And to think, that with the way she acts, you wouldn't think it, but Zoe is a damn tart when it comes to the majority of the people we know." Kirstin mumbled, walking Harry down the street some more, their hands clasped together.  
  
Soon they were at the large house Harry knew they lived at. Entering the house, they headed up the stairs. J-Roc's door was closed, and when he went over to knock on it, Kirstin's grip on his hand tightened just slightly and she pulled him down the hall in the other direction. He reversed course and went where she pulled him, only to have her pull him through another door, which lead to an absurdly large room. The room itself was about the size of his room at Number 4, his room at Heather's house and Dudley's room to boot. There was a couch in the corner, as well as a very large bed and several mirrors.  
  
"Harry, this is my room." she said as she turned to look at him, winking slightly seductively before releasing his hand.  
  
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It was a fairly girly room outside of the smooth coffee-with-cream tan coloring that was a running theme through the room, from the smooth carpeting to the coloring of the walls. Even the large bed had the same coloring on it.  
  
Not that the room was all one color, because there were others around, but the predominance of the tan color stood out more than any other. It had a soothing quality to it.  
  
Kirstin went over to her desk and turned on the laptop computer that was sitting there. As it started up, she walked over to one of the large mirrors along the wall and pushed it to the side, and it slowly slid to the side, revealing another room behind it. Not exactly a room, but a very large closet. She disappeared into it for a second and came out moments later with a pair of jeans and a pale gray shirt.  
  
And in complete shock to Harry, she lifted her shirt, revealing her toned stomach. Harry shut his eyes, thinking she had forgotten he was there. And then he heard her chuckling. He cracked his eyes open to see her standing there with her hands on hips, clothed only in her jeans and her simply white brassiere.  
  
"Well Harry, seems the bad boy is pretty shy in truth…funny I get to find that out now. Good thing for you I guess, Zoe probably would have subjected you to a lot worse that a simple bra."  
  
Harry tried hard not to blush, and then simply shrugged. At this, Kirstin smirked and pulled her shirt on, only to unbutton her skirt. Harry swallowed loudly, and Kirstin smirked, only to begin to wiggle her hips as she began to pull the jeans down, only to stop, smirk, and re-adjust them. She then walked over to Harry as he was sitting in a large loveseat the girl had in her room. She sat across his body, and smiled.  
  
"Don't worry, by the time we are done with you, me changing in front of you will be second nature. You will become so used to it, it won't even become a problem." And with that and a kiss on the cheek, Kirstin grabbed her jeans and disappeared into the closet. "We'll build up to it later."  
  
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A/N: This may seem unnecessary now, but there is a reason. It has a lo to do with the balance of innocence.  
  
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So soon Kirstin came back out, completely changed. She winked at Harry and then went over to the computer. She pulled the chair out and then motioned him over. She pulled him over and sat him in the chair for the desk and then took a seat on his lap, opening a program on the computer.  
  
"So basically we are going out to kinda work on an overall look for you. I like th bad-ass thing with you, so we are going to have to keep it around." And as she said this, she turned to him and winked. And then she stopped and looked closely at him. She stared into his eyes and then began seemed to smile.  
  
"That is so damn weird. Really cool, but weird."  
  
And with, she turned from his eyes and then made to get off of his lap. After a slight little wiggling from her position, she stood and motioned for him to get up. They walked down the hall to J-Roc's room, where there was a faint sound of music coming from behind the doors. Kirstin knocked on the door, and J-Roc came to the door.  
  
"We need a shirt for Harry here to wear. In the rush to get him here so I can go on with what I plan to do today, he didn't have time to throw one on." J-Roc gave his sister a sarcastic look, but simply moved out of the way of the door. Harry entered and then was led to the closet. He went through shirts until he found a simple black t-shirt. As he turned to leave, thanking his friend, J-Roc tossed him something else. Harry looked at it, and found it to be a pair of black finger-less gloves. Harry thanked the boy again and pulled them on. He then turned back to Kirstin and they headed out of the room, down the steps and to the girl's car.  
  
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It was about 3 hours later that they showed back up at the house again, bags filling the back of the car, and Harry's pockets much lighter, silently thanking the stars above that he had sent Hedwig to Gringotts' the night he returned from Hogwarts to retrieve a large amount of money from his vault to be transferred to muggle money.  
  
He made to get out of the car only to have Kirstin stop him. She smirked and then shook her head. She put the car back into drive and they drove off down the street, turning a corner and then stopping in front of another large house.  
  
Zoe sat outside in the front of the house, reclined in a lounge chair, attracting the attention of the whole neighborhood as she sunbathed in her small swimming suit, sunglasses on and headphones on, the world a whole world away from her.  
  
Kirstin got out, as did Harry. They walked over to her, and Kirstin sat on the side of the lounge chair and nudged Zoe. Zoe sat up and looked to both of them, and then smiled and glanced to the car. Wordlessly Zoe began packing all of her stuff up, and Kirstin walked back to the car, grabbing bags. Harry followed Kirstin and took as many bags as he could carry, and then followed Kirstin into the house.  
  
Zoe's house was very large, and fairly immaculate in maintenance, things clean and tidy, nothing badly out of place to the point that Harry noticed. And soon they traversed the stairs and came to a large door. Kirstin opened it and they walked in, setting the bags down on the bed. Gladly Harry was able to carry all the ones Kirstin could not, so they didn't have to make another trip.  
  
And the first thing Harry realized upon entered the room was, it made Kirstin's room look fairly small in comparison. And whereas Kirstin's room bordered girly but kept the earthy thing to balance, Zoe seemed to have no qualms with making it known what kind of person she was. Because her room was the opposite of Kirstin's. It seemed the running trend in Zoe's room,  
  
Was pink,   
  
and leather.  
  
The room itself was a creamy off white color with a slight, ever so barely there pink tinge. This color ran throughout the room, but there was one wall that was different. It had a door completely covered in shiny black leather, and the wall around it was a very girly, fluffy pink color. It actually physically shocked Harry by the, overwhelming femininity of it. He made to ask why there was one door covered in leather, and another that was obviously a closet, but decided on asking the question he was wondering but had no intention of asking.  
  
"Her parents let her have a room like this?" Harry muttered, a pair of handcuffs handing from each bedpost, obviously simply used for decoration…Harry hoped, and other random things dotted around the room.  
  
"Well, Zoe was somewhat of a big phenom when she was younger. Little actress on a show over in the states a long time ago. Made loads of money off of it, and then her dad tried to use her in…a less than fatherly way. Not a good thing for a small girl, and when she turned from him and refused, he degraded her to making her feel like nothing. She thought she was worse than nothing.   
  
Oddly similar to what Tim does to Heather a lot, may be why Zoe feels so strongly about the situation…  
  
But basically eventually she was emancipated, and is now sitting on a very nice pile of money, with more rolling in from more settlements from her father, and her random odd acting job around her. We hang here a lot, since she's all by herself in this huge house. Her room has the handcuffs and stuff because we did it as a gag, all her freak talk got us wanting to play a joke on her. For her birthday last year we did this, and she seemed to have liked it and actually left it."  
  
Harry nodded, processing information as Zoe came out from the closet, clothed in her bikini top and some jeans. She smiled and then took a seat on her bed, motioning for Harry and Kirstin to sit down anywhere.  
  
"So Kirst, what are we wearing to this wretched event?" Zoe asked, smirking.  
  
"Well, I was thinking simply. I went out and got some new jeans and such, so I was thinking just some faded jeans, fuzzy sweaters with the puff cotton ball drawstrings thingies, and matching boots. Any color, but all of us wearing the same thing in different colors. Be kinda cool."  
  
Zoe nodded, and then seemed to be thinking. "What if we all three match? You know, we both match with Harry?"  
  
"Or wait, what if we make Harry and Heather match. Find out what she's wearing and then have him match it!" Kirstin shouted, and Zoe smiled, nodding. Zoe grabbed the phone from next to the bed and called Heather. They talked for a second and Harry finally asked.  
  
"So, what is she wearing?"  
  
And the most vile word possible came from Zoe's cruelly smiling lips. "pink"  
  
"oh hell no. N-O. I refuse."  
  
"Well, too bad for that plan. So I guess we'll just kinda have to go with the first plan with the boots and shirt and jeans." Kirstin muttered. Zoe nodded in agreement.  
  
"I think I'll do sky-blue for the sweater thing. Wait, maybe we should just do t-shirts instead of the sweaters. It is a party, and if we dance, then we'll get hot." Zoe said, and Kirstin nodded.  
  
Harry however, was not nodding. He was looking thunderstruck. Dark Lord, no problem. Dolores Umbridge, sure, no big deal. Dancing…well…that's a whole other thing. But before he could decide to object the girls had rounded on him.  
  
"Harry has those black boots and we got him a new black shirt today that I really like. That with one of the pair of jeans we got today, and we are cool."  
  
"Wait. The boots would be offset really well if he wore a long sleeved white shirt under it!" half-shouted Zoe. Kirstin nodded and both girls began to talk more and more. And Harry became more and more bored with the talk. Soon he was laying on the floor half-sleep as they talked away about clothes.  
  
"Aww…the poor baby. We talk about clothes and other stupid stuff instead of paying attention to him." Kirstin said.  
  
"How can we make him forgive us" Zoe teased. And then both girls descended on him, Kirstin on one side and Zoe on the other. They pulled him up and sat him on the bed. And right when they were getting ready to do whatever they were going to do, the phone rang.  
  
"Hello." Zoe said, irritation clear in her voice. A look showed clearly on her face, and she began a conversation with whoever was on the line. She then moved the phone from her face and mouthed "Heather" to Harry and Kirstin. Both nodded and then Zoe started talking about the plans they had all made for clothes and such. The conversation continued, and Kirstin caught sight of the clock and offered to take Harry back home so he could go pick up his shoes. He declined, deciding to go for a walk, and he headed out of the house.  
  
As soon as the front door closed, Zoe placed the phone down as she ended the conversation with Heather. She turned to Kirstin and smiled broadly. "Well, seems that we have an opening in our little planning. Even though she really should be leaving him alone, apparently something came up, some last minute thing, and Tim has some place to go so he can't be at the party tonight. So that leaves perfect opportunity for Harry to move in and get some alone time with our baby. Hopefully it all works out right."  
  
And with that both girls giggled and disappeared behind the leather door, racks and racks of shiny material hidden behind it.  
  
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Harry was turning the corner onto Privet when he looked and saw Tonks. She was casually bouncing around a large round orange ball. Complicated moves occurred every so often, and she would throw the ball up into the air every so often in a shooting manner.  
  
Harry finally made it over to her to see her wearing a sleeveless jersey of some kind that was actually so big on her that it looked like a dress. It was predominantly blue with red and white markings on one side under her arm and the 32 under the words "New York". It was funny seeing the large jersey and her playing around with the ball.  
  
Soon enough he got close enough for her to see him. She smiled and held the ball, waving at him. He smirked at her, looking so much like a little child, but still looking older as well.  
  
"Tonks, what the hell are you doing?" Harry asked as he got closer. he said it so it sounded more playfully inquisitive than mean, but Tonks played hurt. But then she smiled and replied.  
  
"Kingsley's infatuation with the American sport of basketball rubbed off on me. Didn't know he did some study in America, but apparently they don't have Quidditch over there, that isn't enough open space. There they have basketball teams for the magical schools, and the occasional Quidditch match in a football stadium." Harry stared at Tonks, confused at why she was sharing this information with him. Tonks saw this and explained. "We started a little team within the Auror training group we have. Its part of the new trainee program, works up endurance and team work. I want to make sure I don't get rusty while I'm off, so you are gonna have to play this stupid game with me, and that includes training and stuff."  
  
Harry looked at Tonks, and then to the ball she was holding under her arm. His arm shot out and he grabbed it and was holding it in his hand before she knew what was happening. He bounced it once and then began a steady rhythm as Tonks stared at him.  
  
"You might just be better at this than I thought." And with that she smiled and took the ball back, following Harry back into the house and up the stairs.  
  
After Harry changed shirts and placed J-Roc's shirt in a place so he could wash it. He went through his stuff that was still over that house and pulled out another shirt. He placed it on, intending to change once he got back to Zoe's and then he turned to leave. He headed down the stairs and found Tonks just hanging up the phone.   
  
And as she did, she pulled out her wand and muttered something, and before Harry's eyes her jersey and shorts turned into a pair of tight jeans, a burgundy shirt and burgundy boots.   
  
She closed her eyes and seemed to concentrate, and streaks of burgundy ran through her deep brown hair, which adopted a subtle curl.  
  
She opened her eyes and looked to Harry, holding her hands out in a kind of presentation manner. Harry smiled and nodded, and she winked and smirked, doing a slight twirl before him, and he simply chuckled at her child-like action and then they both headed to the door. Heading out they walked toward Zoe's house, Harry recounting the tale he was told about Zoe by Kirstin to Tonks.  
  
As soon as they arrived at the large house, they found several cars parked outside of said house, and a group of girls standing around outside of the door, sipping different drinks and talking animatedly.  
  
As soon as Harry made it to the porch, J-Roc's laugh was audible. "So they got you then?"  
  
"What are you talking about?" Harry asked. And then he caught sight of J-Roc, clad in a black shirt, baggy blue jeans, black boots and a black bandana covering his hair.  
  
"They got me too. Well, more Robin than anyone else." Harry chuckled, fake coughing the word "whipped" only to get a playful hit on the side of the head. "You aren't one to talk Mister. I heard about you and Kirstin on the side of the street this morning. Seems that your lack of clothing may have been my sister's doing to me…" J-Roc smirked and they both had a laugh.  
  
Tonks had disappeared into the crowd of people and was socializing well. Harry smiled and was about to go and find Kirstin or Zoe when heather appeared.  
  
"Hello there you." She said with a smile. Harry smiled as well upon seeing her.  
  
"Well hello you too." he then made it a point to glance around for a second above her head and then look down and smile brightly.  
  
"So, how's everything been. Nothing fall apart since I left?"  
  
"That's what I came to talk to you about. It really wanted to know why you left. I mean, Its okay that you did and all, but something feels a lot different with you gone and Bobby never home. I just kinda…I miss my Hare Bear." She said the last part with a big smile on her face. Harry scoffed at the crappy nickname, but smiled. Reaching up with his hand, he ruffled her hair with his hand on top of her head before leaning forward and placing his chin on her head, looking over her in the process of resting his head on her's.  
  
"I'll always be here." he muttered. "For as long as I can, I will be here." And with that Harry stood straight, and without a back glance at Heather, he walked toward the house, looking for something to distract him from the thoughts going through his head.  
  
Had he looked back to Heather, he would have seen the glint of tears in her eyes, and a sweet smile showing on her face faintly. She nodded before turning and walking away.  
  
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Harry found something to take his mind off of the upcoming jitters of the party, and the conversation he had just had with Heather. They were in glass bottles in a cooler by the fridge. There was colored foil along the top, and they were something that Harry had not had any past experience with.  
  
Butterbeer, sure.  
  
Pumpkin Juice, Fine.  
  
Even a bit of Odgen's Fire Whiskey had seen Harry's palate…  
  
But Wine Coolers…they were something new.  
  
He picked one up and opened it, drinking some of it. And as he tasted the cooling liquid in his mouth, he headed back outside as it seemed everyone was heading over to the center, many groups opting to walk over. Harry was pushed into a large black SUV. The whole little groups was inside, Heather, Kirstin, Zoe, Robin and J-Roc. J-Roc was behind the wheel, oddly. But apparently due to the rash amount of alcohol the other people in the car had already consumed, they all figured he would be the safest driver for the short trek. Also, there seemed to be another reason, as they all seemed weary of leaving him and Robin the back of the car together, making it so J-Roc drove and Harry was forced up to sitting in the front seat.  
  
"Linds' gonna meet us over there, she had to go pick…her…up. Well, not pick up as much as ride over with her. I don't understand it, but apparently that side of the family are absurdly close. You'd never think with the way her dad's side of the family interact…"Robin said as she took a break from her bottle before going back to draining it in a slow manner, oddly similar to a baby and its bottle.  
  
Kirstin and Zoe sat on either side of Heather in the far back of the SUV, looking at her and seeming to all three be having a hushed conversation. However, as soon as their voices started to get louder, Robin sat up and turned the music up in the car, drowning their voices out to the people in the front of the car due to some speaker adjustments.  
  
And when they were about to leave, Tonks ran over and hopped in the car next to robin, and then the car pulled off from the house and drove the fairly short distance to the Teen Center.  
  
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The Little Whinging Teenage Recreation Center was fairly large in size, and as they all climbed from the large vehicle and entered the Center, it was clear that there was a lot of work put into making it look nice and very decorated for the dance. Arrows pointed them towards the gym, and Harry noticed Heather seemed to not be talking to Kirstin or Zoe, and Robin was trying to mediate the situation.  
  
And as they entered the gym, which was easily the size of a Quidditch pitch, there were many teenagers all around, some drinking random beverages, some standing in groups talking, and everyone generally avoiding the dance floor. The DJ was playing "filler music", staying away from the current popular music until the atmosphere picked up, as J-Roc paraphrased to Harry.  
  
"And trust me, it will. Especially when Hermione gets here. Heather and Hermione have been competing over the little local title of "Lordess Of the Dance" as I call it. They generally compete at dances like these. I look forward to it, and this year I think I might join in on the betting that takes place."  
  
"Betting?"  
  
"Yeah. There's overall betting, like who is gonna be declared better looking than the other by the most people, to dancing competition, to clothing choice, a lot of things. And then there is the one no one has won as of yet."  
  
"Which one is that?"  
  
"When they will actually hate each other to actually come to blows again. And from there, there is the 'who will win the inevitable fight' thing."  
  
Harry stared at his friend and simply sighed, nodding before turning back to glance around the party. He made his way over to the punch bowl and took some. Had he been more familiar with alcohol, he would have been able to identify the odd taste of the punch and the slight burning. And he would have recognized exactly what he was drinking. And he probably would have wondered why someone would spike the punch at a dance like that with Vodka.  
  
But sitting down and closing his eyes, listening to the mechanically reproduced guitar solo on the record currently spinning, Harry drifted off to a world of, not sleep, but unconscious awareness. And here he saw something very odd.  
  
Something that made him wish he hadn't skimped on the Occulmency lessons.  
  
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It was dark. Everything was completely dark. Not the dark Harry was used to, not full, all consuming darkness. No, the darkness around him was much more frightening. That was because it was real kind of darkness. Like middle of the Forbidden Forest at Midnight kind of dark.  
  
And as he thought this, it seemed like that was where it was, with the mangled-looking trees and the dark silhouettes cast all around.  
  
And then people began to become clear. Whether it was simply his eyes focusing or they were really apparating there, Harry wasn't sure. But soon enough bunches of people in black cloaks showed up, familiar masks adorning their faces and the typical tattoo/branding mark on the left forearm clear on one as he pulled his cloak sleeve up to rub the burning skin.  
  
He was at a Death Eater's Meeting.  
  
And then /He/ spoke. "Malfoy, it would seem that your son has defied us all and has decided to distance himself from our cause. The apple it seems has decided to get as far from the tree as permissible by nature. But what he doesn't realize, that I am more powerful than even nature herself, and what she decides to make final, or do, I will undo and undermine her very power and ability!" Voldemort laughed sinisterly, others joining in inquisitively, looking very uneasy about the laughter.  
  
He glanced to a hooded figure who was lacking a mask and smiled. "But good of you to bring in your nephew as a consolation prize of sorts. Nice to think that there are still some who know of my power and are smart enough to join now instead of being killed in the near future." And then Voldemort spoke directly to the unmasked figure. "Remove your hood and identify yourself, declaring allegiance to your new Lord!"  
  
And with those words a hand came from the cloak's pocket and grasped the hood of the cloak. "I swear my allegiance to you my lord." He spoke in a muffled voice as he fell to his knees, the hood pulled off as his face fell to the ground as he kneeled and bowed. And as he looked up, Harry got a clear view of his face. And his forearm as a spell was muttered and a smell of burning flesh filled his nostrils.  
  
"And we welcome into our ranks…"  
  
And with these words Harry began to awaken.  
  
Tim…A Death Eater?  
  
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A/N: Okay, new chapter, new Cliffie. I do it for a reason, and they do help me to continue faster with the chapter updates.  
  
That leads me to what I have to say here. Look, since I keep getting so many damn reviews that say, "I love the story…update sooner…etc…" I'm gonna try something new here. Don't get me wrong, I thank you all sooooooooo much for reviewing, but the little "ordering me to update faster with threats" doesn't do a whole lot for making me want to update sooner. A good critique and good, deep and extensive feedback does.  
  
So from now until I stop getting reviews that only say that, no matter how much I love them, until they stop outnumbering the number of complete reviews I get during an update, I will be giving you all a look at my personal life, and what prevented me from updating sooner. So here it goes.:  
  
I have been sick. Period. The end. Sleeping 26 hours a day kinda sick.  
  
And then add in the fact that my birthday is in…uh…a matter of hours, and I have a lot on my mind outside of this story. I love it to death, but I love myself more, and my 16th terrestrial birthday is a big celebration for me. I mean, well…I'm not 15 anymore I guess. Yes, be happy, this is the last time I tell any of you how old I am.  
  
Well, that's kinda it.  
  
Love you all, and Happy Frickin' Birthday to Meh!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  
  
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	9. Chapter 9: Crashing the Party

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Harry Potter was drunk.  
  
It was a phrase he never thought would come into his own mind.  
  
Not only had he never thought he would be drunk, especially off of something like Vodka, but he had never thought that, even in his drunken stupor, there would be a part of his mind that was still perfectly conscious of everything he was doing, and was thoroughly making it a point to kind of record every embarrassing thing he said or did for later torment.  
  
And as Harry sat there, the cup of "Happy Juice" held in his hand and his eyes surveying the world around him from behind the black veil of hair. And as he watched, he saw the small crowd of people who were dancing on the dance floor slit down the middle to show the door to Harry's general area. An area were Heather was currently sitting, right next to Harry.  
  
As the doors were revealed and a feminine form appeared. J-Roc appeared next to Harry, slipping a cup to the other boy. Harry looked to J-Roc, and saw a bottle of a dark brown liquid being put back in the young rocker's backpack that was off to the side.  
  
"Its my own little sobering concoction. You will want to be damn right sober so you can enjoy everything that is getting ready to happen." Harry nodded and took the cup, downing the whole thing in one go.  
  
"You might not-" but J-Roc stopped as the cup was lowered, completely empty. "want to do that…" and instantly, Harry hit an instant buzz of sorts. The liquid was like liquid electricity as it shocked up Harry's spine.  
  
And his eyes closed, and when then opened, they were so wide open, it seemed like you could see into the very depths of his mind. Harry looked to J-Roc, who had a similar look on his face, and both smirked and got up, following behind Heather as she got up and headed toward the dance floor, as was the girl who was apparently Hermione.  
  
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A/N: many people worried about the conflict with Harry and Hermione, or the whole out of character thing with said Bushy haired witch. However, I am a firm believer in people having layers. Just because she is a bookworm doesn't mean that she can't be a little crazy party girl in her home town. And you will all see what I mean…now.  
  
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Harry sighed as he watched the crowd form, and decided that he was tired of being shut out from whatever encounter was going on between the two girls. He looked to J-Roc, who was trying to see over some girl's high hair, and tapped him, motioning to a spot occupied by people fairly shorter than the two fairly tall boys. They made it over and used that to push to the front of the crowd, being able to hear the words being spoken.  
  
"So bitch, had to come and ruin the party, didn't you? It was perfectly clean before you walked in here."  
  
The crowd collectively made instigating noises as this was said to Hermione be Heather.  
  
"Ha ha, talk all you want. It won't get you out of this. So this is how we'll do it. Anything goes, use whatever and whoever you want. This gets settled, once and for all. Immediately. So, anything else you have to say before I kick your whoring ass one last time?"  
  
More "owww"s and "Oh no she didn't"s rang out through the crowd. Heather shook her head with a smirk on her face. She walked over to a little white bag that was sitting by her chair. It matched the pink shirt and pink boots she wore. She took off her boots and changed into a pair of simple white tennis shoes with some pink kind of design artfully done on the side before tying her hair back in a ponytail and walking back into the center of the circle.  
  
"Yo Ken, throw something on. Something I can move to!" heather said with a wink, and "Ken" winked and nodded, putting a record on the turntables and doing a quick stint of scratching before the partially slow beat kicked in over the powerful baseline.   
  
And as this happened, both girls began to move.  
  
Heather began a rhythmic snaking of her body, rolling what seemed the very beat of the song down along her spine. It was oddly hypnotic to those watching her. But others were watching Hermione.  
  
She had started a similar dance to Heather's, but as soon as she got a hold, of the beat, she walked over to the crowd, walking around the circle and searching for someone apparently. Her eyes were watching Heather as she went, and seemed to be seeing where Heather was watching. She looked and saw Heather looking toward where Harry and J-Roc were standing. Misreading the girl's eyes, she walked behind both boys, and slowly snaked her arms over J-Roc's shoulders and along his chest from behind him, standing on the tips of her toes to do so. Because of this, she almost missed the look of relief on heather's face at her partner.  
  
Thinking this a ploy to get her from the boy, she walked J-Roc out and began a slow dance, pressing the back of her body to the front of his, moving slowly.  
  
It took Zoe and Kirstin to hold Robin back and as she tried to force her way into the circle and "stick her foot up that ho's…" Yeah.  
  
But then there was another bit of scratching and the beat turned more hip-hop like, and baseline thumping and the rhythm speeding up. And with that, Heather's dancing stopped from the slow movement to no movement at all for a moment. And then she smirked to Hermione, who had since pushed J-Roc, albeit fairly forcefully, back into the crowd.  
  
And as the new music began and both girls thought to start dancing, the door flew open and in strode someone no one particularly expected.  
  
Harry looked on as Tonks strode in, followed closely by Tim.  
  
And before he knew what was happening, and for reasons unknown to him seeing as he had long since forgotten his little dream, Harry's arm pulled back and hit Tim in the face.  
  
The boy's body reeled and his feet lifted off the ground and tapping his outstretched hands as he rocketed backwards and into the table that held the punch.  
  
But yet, no one was still really paying attention to this, as Heather was doing something that Harry and many others didn't expect.  
  
She was break-dancing.  
  
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A/N: ok, ok, I hear the screams as to how weird that seems. J-Roc, Zoe, Robin and Kirstin are all into the whole rock thing, so I think Heather should be into something else. Also, Heather was on the West Coast of America during the 90's, where everything was about Hip-Hop and such.  
  
Also, I kinda wanted to have some fun writing this part, as the next dance will have more of a background to it than just them having fun.  
  
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"Uh…that was unexpected…" Harry and J-Roc both muttered at the same time, J-Roc surveying Tim and Harry watching Heather spin and move around.  
  
J-Roc turned from the fallen blonde to the dancing brunette, and simply smiled. "That…well, that's a part of Heather's personality we were all too happy to accept as part of her. It was either that or boxing, and I don't think any of us could handle an irate Heather, fully capable of not only catching us, but hurting us once she did. We all are faster than her physically, so that's our only hope."  
  
Harry smirked, getting so caught up in watching Heather move that he missed Tim stand up and walk over to a corner, smirking to himself through the blood running from his lip.  
  
Soon Heather stopped and Hermione was about to give it a go, but the music changed. It was a good paced music, but slower than anything played as of then. It was music meant for slow dancing.  
  
Harry backed away from the dance floor like he had been burned, and put his hands up as both Zoe and Kirstin started toward him.  
  
But both grabbed an arm and dragged him to the dance floor. And pushed him toward Heather. Harry stopped just before running into the back of her, but his balance was off slightly and he put his hands out to balance, only to have them graze over her shoulders. And as he got his balance, they loosened from the tension, and they ended up draping over her shoulders.  
  
Heather turned in the half embrace and looked up to him. She smiled as she put her hands on his waist. And as they moved slightly, Heather chuckled.  
  
"Isn't it supposed to be the other way around?"  
  
"I like being different." Harry replied, smirking at her. However, as if naturally, they both ended up switching, Harry's arms moving down from her shoulders along her arms and to her hips as the music played, and her's running up his back.  
  
And as they pulled closer and she was about to finally enter his personal space when the song ended and the DJ announced an intermission of his performance, and the dance would take a break for a quick clean up before some other activities began. A Representative from the Center told them that all facilities of the Center would be open for the intermission, which would be about an hour.  
  
And at this, the lights were cut on and Harry and Heather had to separate. And as they did, heather was grabbed by some girls and dragged toward a large group of girls, and Harry walked over to J-Roc, who had produced a basketball. Tonks saw this and separated herself from the group of girls and headed with them toward the outside basketball court.  
  
As they walked, Harry saw J-Roc trot ahead to the court and realized his mistake as he had worn boots and didn't have the right shoes to play basketball in. Tonks noticed him looking to his feet and pulled out her wand from its hiding place, which was apparently in the back of her bra by the way she produced it.  
  
She made to point it at Harry's boots and change them into a pair of tennis shoes when the wand began to glow slightly. And as it did, in the slightly cold air of the night, Harry felt it glowing slightly.  
  
And without even knowing why he knew something was happening, Harry got a feeling something bad was about to go down by the look on Tonks' face.  
  
"Harry, we need to go, now."  
  
And Harry nodded, taking off from the Teen Center, Tonks close behind him, as Harry's legs pumped and his footfalls reverberated energy as he rushed down the street.  
  
He hadn't set out in any particular direction, but soon found himself in front of Number 4. He stopped in front of the house, looking none the worse for wear, but Tonks came up moments later, panting and muttering a slight "finite incantatem" under her breath, pointing her wand at her feet.  
  
"Damn Harry, I had to cast a Light Footed Charm on myself just to keep you in sight, and you aren't even panting." Tonks gazed at him in slight confusion, and was about to ask how he knew where to go when she heard a branch crack to the side of them. Harry dropped low in a crouch, and Tonks pointed her wand to the sound. And as they looked, there was Dudley, trying to sneak his absurd size from the house as stealthily as possible if it was possible to be stealthy when you were the size of a silverback gorilla.  
  
Harry shook his head, as Tonks smirking at the idiocy of the large tub of person called Dudley. They heading toward the back of the house, Tonks unlocking the door with wand, and they slipped up the stairs.  
  
Harry felt around and found his wand, slipping it into his pocket. However, as his hair fell when he bent down to open his trunk, he found that it was falling way past where it had earlier in the day.  
  
Searching around, Harry found a lost twig from his Firebolt in the bottom of his trunk. He took it and used it to tie back his hair. He missed the faint glint of light across the reddish colored strand, and was too caught up in the adrenaline to notice the warmth it provided.  
  
Harry looked over to the bed for his backpack and saw the black bass guitar sitting on the bed.  
  
Picking it up, he slipped the strap over his shoulder and searched around the room for anything else that he might need. He had a feeling something was going to happen, and he knew something would have to be done.  
  
And as he glanced to the side of the room and the squawk of owl standing on the windowsill, something did happen.  
  
That owl jumped from the sill and in the process, became a person. A person clad in black robes, and wearing a vaguely familiar mask.  
  
"Shit!" Tonks cursed as she reached for her wand and the Death Eater leveled his off at her.  
  
And as all of this happened, the world around Harry dissolved from a world of seeing light, to seeing dark. And as this happened, everything seemed to change.  
  
A change for the worst for the Death Eater.  
  
And the many more coming toward the house.  
  
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The spell rocketed toward Tonks, its vile green coloring singing the air. But it all went by in slow-motion for the dark haired. And without even understanding what happened, Harry moved his arm to get his wand from his belt. But In the process, the strap to the guitar fell into the crook of his arm, and then seemed to roll off into his hand.   
  
He took it, flipping the strap and the guitar into the air, catching the lower neck of it and feeling a feeling of energy run through him. It was odd, it felt like it was leaving him, but going into him at the same time.  
  
And without knowing why he did, he swung the guitar like a bat. And the red spell hit the guitar, and with a shaking deep baseline sound, something very odd happened.  
  
The sick green spell rejected off of the dark bass guitar and became an almost negative light, drawing in all the light around it. And it hit the dark cloaked figure, and it looked much like his very body was being rejected by the very air around him, and he simply blinked out of existence. A long stream of a deep vile green substance seemed to drain into the guitar, and through that, in seemed to linger into Harry slightly. And left in his place, a single wand was left where he had stood.  
  
Time seemed to resume its current form, and Tonks stood, finally getting her wand out. She stared at Harry, and then his guitar and then Harry.  
  
She was about to say something when they noticed a small round object laying where the Death Eater had been. Tonks shouted angrily and in shock and ran over to it, throwing it out of the window, breaking it in the process.  
  
"Wha…" Harry muttered in confusion.  
  
"Its called a Go-To. Its an apparation point. It draws all apparation in the near area to it. Usually its used to stop all magic of a certain type in an area, or draw it to one point. They are very rare, but really short ranged, and really dangerous now."  
  
"Why?" But Harry's mind had already worked it out even in its fog of action.  
  
"Because every apparation in the half mile radius gets pulled to it. So every Death Eater outside the wards just got a ticket in the front door." Tonks answered.  
  
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A/N: Tempted to end it here, more cliffies, but…no. I miss action scenes, and I haven't written a good magical one in a while.  
  
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The back yard of Number 4 was a mass of darkness. Not just because of the late hour, but because of the mass of darkly clothed figures lingering around the back yard, all working for entrance.  
  
"We are an easy target for them in a closed space. If they didn't have their wands, it'd be different, and they'd have to bottleneck, but the spells and their abandon for each other's lives will leave us screwed."  
  
Harry nodded and gripped his wand in his hand. But Tonks shook her head. "No, this isn't good. We can't call for help, but you can't fight. Regardless of what happens here, the second your wand comes out, you'll be out of Hogwarts."  
  
"But what about the little round thing, the Go-To. Doesn't that suck up magic?"  
  
"Only a certain type of magic. Transportation magic is in this one, so all other magic works fine. Meaning, the ministry won't have any qualms with giving you the boot out of school. So don't do anything stupid. Stay here and hide. Wait, run. Get away, somewhere public, blend in."  
  
But Harry had stopped listening. He looked through his now broken window and observed the situation.  
  
It was dark, and many of the Death Eaters blended all too well into the shadows. But Harry saw them like they wore flashing christmas lights. It was weird, but Harry was making no complaints. But Tonks was, and so would his relatives when they found out what he was about to do.  
  
Sliding the window open, Harry climbed onto the seal, crouched low as possible to just barely fit the window. And as he held the guitar, Kris' voice returned.  
  
So, seems you have found the Power Within. Its something I knew you would, but something I can't figure out is why you are crouching on a window seal getting ready to jump out and fight a bunch of Death Eaters with nothing more than a bass guitar and yourself. You are an idiot, you know that."  
  
She was quiet for a moment, and then said, "Well, I guess that Power Reserve I held for you will be needed soon, huh? You aren't gonna understand this right now, or for a while I'm guessing, but just know this. There are a few things about yourself and this old guitar that are gonna make it so, what you are about to do isn't so insane. It is nuts, but not too much so."  
  
And with that, Harry crouched low and slipped from the window seal. He had fully intended in landing in a crouch and roll, but Tonks had rushed over to the window and had cast a cushioning charm on the ground below him, causing him to hit what felt like a mound of pillows before landing on the ground softly.  
  
This would have been all well and good, but the cushions being a product of a charm, a light was produced in the pitch black darkness, alerting the Death Eaters to a presence.  
  
And just with that simple action, Tonks had damned a cruel fate upon the long haired boy with the black bass guitar.  
  
A fate to single handedly dispose of a great majority of the Death Eaters. Alone. In the veil of darkness.  
  
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A/N: Great Intake of Breath here. First fight scene of SoH, and no typical TK martial arts in sight. Meaning…my first ever mostly if not all magical fight scene! Feel free to drop little hints or suggestions for future ones.  
  
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Harry rolled over to the house, pressing his back against the wall and watching as the Death Eaters walked toward where he had landed, half the group heading toward him, the other half working on counter-spells that apparently littered the entrances to Number 4.  
  
Harry clutched Kris in his right hand, and felt the draining and replenishing feeling in him. His eyesight got sharper and his body tensed before relaxing completely. And a feeling of completely physical synchronicity filled him.  
  
And as the first Death Eater of the group approached his landing area, Harry slowly slipped along the house toward the back of the group, and dove and rolled across the grass, coming to the large wooden fence and slipping up against that. And slipping Kris on his back, he prepared to jump out and attack. But before he could, he became aware of the dark form slipping down the gate just some ways from him.  
  
Soon Tonks was standing next to him, her now black hair, tanner skin and dark clothing helped her meld into the surroundings. She looked to Harry and he simply slid the guitar on his back with the one strap. He could handle his front, Kris would have to "watch" his back.  
  
Tonks understood and prepared to cast a shield and be Harry's "cover". She knew the kid was nuts, but there was something about the way he had moved in the room, and how he seemed to resonate a power and confidence in himself that she had only seen a few other places made her know he would be the one able to handle most of what would be thrown at him.  
  
And Harry rolled across the grass up behind the last Death Eater of the group. He put his hand over the Death Eater's mouth tightly and slipped his wand from his hand, all in seconds. He held the Death Eater to Tonks, who blasted him with a Stunning Spell.  
  
Harry knew the risk this brought, as the red light of the stunner would surely draw attention, so he took the stunned Death Eater, who was oddly short, maybe 5' 4" and very light, and threw his form into the mass group of Death Eaters.   
  
This disoriented many of the dark forces, long enough for Harry to dive forward and grab another body from behind in a headlock of sorts, this one much taller, just about even height with Harry and much wider around the midsection. This person became a human shield for the initial waves of attacks.  
  
But then a spell was shouted in a familiar voice that sent a wave of anger through Harry as he rolled away.  
  
"Tempus Decatur!" And at that the body Harry had been holding decayed into ashes and blew away in some magical wind, and Harry dove to the side, rolling as much as possible with the guitar, which he somehow got into his hand again once he stood from the roll.  
  
"Bellatrix"  
  
"Potter"  
  
They looked at each other even with all of the Death Eaters surrounding them, and Harry knew he had to get to her.  
  
So he rushed forward, and all the Death Eaters closed in around him. And as this happened, the Death Eaters were picked off from the quickly moving Tonks, who was moving from position to position, sending out Stunners and Impediment Charms, along with several other spells like "Disillius" and "Tripwire", the first confusing the Death Eaters into running into walls, and the second making them trip over invisible tripwires, faking them either fall on their faces or their backsides.  
  
Harry knew she was having fun, so Harry decided to do some of his own. Needless to say, Harry's brand of "fun" was nowhere near as simple and innocent as Tonks' and much more violent.  
  
Slipping behind a Death Eater, Harry pulled back with the guitar and slammed the base of the bass into the man's skull, sending him forward face first into the side of the house. There was a crunch and he slid down the wall, painting the side of the house with crimson splatter in an odd post-modern like display.   
  
Harry looked and saw the man's wand laying on the ground in front of where he had just been standing.  
  
Crouching low, he picked it up and slipped it into his pocket. He then slipped back along the wall. And then he looked around the corner as he heard a voice, or several voices muttering. And then his brain went back to the many Death Eaters around the corner attempting make their way into the house. And as he saw this, another Death Eater saw where he was looking and shouted out.  
  
"Potter's here. Get your job done with the fewest people possible, the rest of you, get here, we need back-up!"  
  
Harry growled and then proceeded to rush the Death Eater who was yelling this. He tackled him down, in the process a barrage of curses shot right over him. He pulled back his fist and punched the Death Eater he had tackled twice and then rolled off of the unconscious body and back to where Tonks was running up toward him.  
  
"Reinforcements coming." Harry stated. Tonks nodded. "No backup?" Tonks shook her head. "Anti-Apparation Wards?" Tonks nodded. "I can feel them. I don't know how or why. Its like I feel restrained. So, you keep my cover. I'm going after Lestrange. She's the leader. She goes down, so does this wretched group."  
  
Tonks couldn't even make a work of protest as Harry slid down the wall, the black guitar strap across his chest as the guitar rested on his back. He was a force of black energy, black liquid in his movements, not graceful as much as flowing.   
  
He got where he needed to be in the least amount of motion possible with the most amount of stealth possible.  
  
And as he crept, Bellatrix was sitting back, observing with her shockingly bright eyes, beautiful yet very evil. Her pale silvery-blue eyes were surveying everything in a very passive way, as she seemed to be doing something else at the moment, but checking every so often for Harry.  
  
Sadly enough for her, whatever was occupying her time caused her to miss the dark figure crouched next to the small tool shed located just 10 feet from her position. Slipping the door open, Harry slipped into the darkness. He reached around and found a metal rake, something Harry was sure the family had yet to use once, as there were no trees on Number 4.  
  
He begins to take it when he hears a yell. He drops the rake and slips back out the door and looks to see the Death Eaters, a sea of them now, heading at Tonks. But it wasn't Tonks's scream coming from her body. Harry looked over to where Bellatrix was standing, and saw a faint glint of a smile and a wink, and saw the tips of the woman's black hair flash orange before they went back to the dark black.  
  
Harry smirked slightly and shook his head. Suddenly the Death Eaters pulled out wands and began to send curses at Tonks, or more, Bellatrix who looked like Tonks. She turned and ran from the house, and Bellatrix/Tonks took off after her. This left Harry to the Death eaters, or so he thought.   
  
But she turned around and told them to leave, saying Aurors were coming. All the Death Eaters in the area apparated away, and Harry slipped from his cover and took off through backyards, scaling fences, often times using one hand to simply do a side-flip over the wooden blockades.  
  
Soon he turned and ran along the side of a house, coming out on the street just a little behind Tonks, who had since returned to her true form. So as they ran after Bellatrix, there was a feeling in Harry that something was wrong, and he felt something bad happening, but he powered on.  
  
Suddenly Bellatrix, who was once more looking herself, tripped over a crack in the sidewalk. She stumbled and then fell. But she got up and ran again. However her fall helped Harry and Tonks to gain on her greatly. Tonks growled and dove forward, dive-tackling her aunt and the dark witch.  
  
Rolling her over on her back, Tonks was straddling Bellatrix's stomach and began pounding her fists into the woman's face. Wands be damned, Tonks was attacking full force, and soon began clawing with her magically elongated nails. And all the while, curses, not the magical kind, left Tonks' mouth.  
  
And Harry stood, petrified as Tonks fought and attacked her mother's sister, and her uncle's murderer.  
  
But soon Harry realized something. If Death Eaters were attacking his house, then something had to be up. And his mind ground to a halt as he realized something. Tim was a Death Eater.  
  
And Tim was at the Center.  
  
"Ah shit…."  
  
And with that Harry bolted toward the Center. But as he did this, he realized something. If Tim was at the Center, then the Death Eaters must have known that Harry wouldn't have been home. So there had to have been another reason they were at his house.  
  
But as he realized this, he was bursting through the doors of the Center. And as he did, his feet were glowing slightly, his makeshift hair restraint long since lost in the run, and his hair was curtaining around his face.  
  
Needless to say he looked fairly frightening with the dim lights from the main room of the Center behind him, his hair all around him, and his eyes glowing slightly.  
  
He walked two steps into the room of the party when Zoe and Kirstin rushed to him.  
  
"Tim, he took her. He took Heather. It..we…tried to stop him…" Kirstin was at the point of an emotional breakdown, and Zoe looked like the only thing holding her back from killing someone was holding Kirstin up.  
  
Suddenly Robin rounded on Harry. "Where were you? She needed you, and where were you. Off with that whore you are trying to play off as your cousin were you? What was going on there. You could have saved her!" And the Zoe turned and slapped Robin harshly across the face. Robin's face turned and she left her head turned, and then seemed to be thinking about her words. J-Roc came over and walked her away, and Harry stood there, anger filling him.  
  
"Where?" he asked simply. Zoe pointed toward the backdoor, and Harry took off, running across the hardwood gym floors incredibly quickly and oddly silently. He slammed into the back door, not hitting the bar to release the latch, simply slamming the door so hard the latch on the side of the door bent and the door flew open.  
  
And when Harry came out, he saw Tim dragging a stunned Heather toward his car. Tim looked up at the noise of the door slamming open, and was startled and dropped Heather's form to the ground. She landed safely, but the impact seemed to wake her up. And as she looked up, she saw Harry standing at the door, fuming in anger so much that she was getting the feeling from him again. The feeling of wrong and pure power.  
  
And as she looked at Tim, she realized something. Harry was perfectly capable of killing the frail blonde, and would not hesitate to do it. And in that cloud of feeling, she realized two things. One, Harry was willing to take a life for her. All for her safety. Which meant a lot.  
  
And two, she may hate him, but Tim did not deserve the death Harry was going to bestow upon him. So, raising her foot, she tripped Tim, and stood, Pulling her leg back as far as she could and delivering a frighteningly powerful kick to the teens…genitals.  
  
The kick was so hard that his body moved a foot back from its position on the ground, and his eyes shot open and nearly popped out of his skull.  
  
Making a motion to dust of her hands, Heather smirked and turned to Harry, who looked in pain himself in the same area as Tim. She realized it was a guy thing that the pain of watching that was shared, and she chuckled for no real reason as she looked back at Tim.  
  
And suddenly Bobby shot around the corner of the building. He was panting slightly, and seemed to be hiding something in his back pocket. And stopping to seemingly wipe something on the grass, he came from the shadows with a baseball bat in hand.  
  
"Tim. Where are you you coward? If you did anything to Heather I swear on my life I will kill you with this bat in my hand!"  
  
But when Bobby observed the suspect on the floor holding his lower area, he looked to Heather, who had gone over to Harry to be wrapped in his arms. He looked at her in question, but Harry made a motion with his foot and then pointed toward the lower body, and Bobby made a sound of disagreement to the action and showed a look of disagreement.  
  
"That must of hurt, I know how hard the little munchkin can kick." Harry nodded. "But better that than me" Bobby said.  
  
"Yeah. I would have not only done that, and then ripped off his head, planted flowers down his throat, shoved his head up his ass and then kicked him in said ass up and down the street all night long."  
  
Heather scoffed at the creativity Harry put into this, and then envisioned it, which made her laugh more. But then the realization that he was perfectly capable of doing this scared her slightly.  
  
But suddenly Tonks appeared on the side of the house, panting and in complete shock. She grabbed Harry and dragged him away from the Center. And once they were around the corner under a street light, her eyes were bright and there were stains of tears on her face, along with a slight scratch.  
  
"Yeah the bitch scratched me, but what can be done."  
  
"I know the Death Eaters weren't there for me, so what were they there for?"  
  
"Harry I have some bad news." Tonks turned her head away from hair, and her voice became thick with restrained tears. "The Dursleys. They're dead."  
  
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A/N: Hmm…could end here, but you would all hate me. So I'll give you a look at how Vernon died. See if you can spot the hint to who killed him given earlier.   
  
WARNING: This description is kinda graphically violent. Be warned, and if you are eating, really be careful. Its not super bad, but its bordering. Oh, and ShadowMasterX1/ShadowMaster1755, this is to see if I can be like you one day…  
  
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"How…and was it so bad that you're crying."  
  
"Harry, it was bad. Real bad. Vernon was the worst. They, they, the Aurors did a magic trace for how it was done. They beat him with a baseball bat. They slammed it into his bed again and again and again until he was almost dead, and then they did a healing charm and continued about 10 repetitions. He felt the pain of death about 10 times.   
  
They beat him so bad his eyes popped and his teeth turned to powder. And then they revived him and proceeded to light him on fire, muggle style. Then they changed all the water in the house to gasoline using a transfiguration spell, and when he tried to put it out, it flared more and more. Soon the whole house was alight.   
  
Petunia and Dudley tried to get out, but all entrances and exits were blocked by Death Eaters, who not only forced the fire onto them using simple levitation spells, but put them under repeated Cruciatus. They went insane before their blood boiled and their hearts exploded."  
  
Harry stood, gaping like a fish out of water.  
  
"But there's more. Two things. One is why I am really crying more than the other. Call it womanly empathy." Tonks tried to calm herself some. "You see…Petunia was pregnant."  
  
And Harry fell back, sitting on the grass and staring ahead, dumbfounded. He and the Dursleys had their issues, but he would never wish death on anyone. It could come back to him. (A/N: Points to whoever knows and can tell me what song that's from)  
  
"But the last thing is, now that Petunia and Dudley are gone, the spells for your protection are gone. You are no longer safe on Number 4. But the second you go anywhere else, you are a target. Which means…"  
  
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They had been able to save Harry's school things mostly due to the type of trunk he had, magically reinforced against fire and other natural and unnatural disasters, magical or otherwise.  
  
So he and Tonks stood at the nice door about an hour later. Harry pulled his hand up and back and tapped on the door of the house. The bouncy shimmering pale hazel eyes showed up as it opened, and upon looking to Harry, then Tonks, and then over the houses in front of the house to the slowly smoking house, illuminated by the last remaining flames in the dark nighttime shadows.  
  
And she simply opened the door wider, Zoe and Kirstin laying across the floor in fairly skimpy pajamas, J-Roc on the couch with Robin laying asleep with her head in his lap, and him watching the TV.  
  
"Heather, what are you doing here?" Harry asked.  
  
"My mom was out of town, and Bobby had somewhere to go really quickly after the whole thing with Tim, so we all came over here. Zoe has about enough rooms for all of us, and usually after the whole party thing we hang here and sleep everything off away from the parental units."  
  
Harry nodded, not really paying too much attention as he was in a fog. He picked his trunk up and walked to the couch, placing it behind said sofa gently before heading to the floor and taking a seat. He placed his head in his hands.  
  
Zoe and Kirstin crawled over to him and sat on each side of him, rubbing his back and simply sitting with him. Soon he began to drift, and Kirstin let him lay down with his head in her lap. Zoe got up and went to get a blanket and brought it down after showing Tonks to her room. And when she came back, Kirstin had been replaced by Heather and Harry was asleep, Heather absentmindedly messing with his fairly long black hair.  
  
"What could have happened to make him like this…?"she muttered to herself as her bright eyes flickered closed and she fell asleep in her seated position with her back against the couch and Harry's head in her lap, one hand entwined with his hair.  
  
And as Zoe brought out another blanket, moving to cover them both with on, realizing Harry would be completely covered with them, she saw where Heather's other hand was.  
  
Firmly entwined with Harry's.  
  
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A/N: Okay, there was my little attempt at writing a little bit of slightly fluffy romance. Seratu, that was for you man, let me know how I am at this. Hope the extra long chapter helps for the long update time :)  
  
Ok, so there is the chapter. And now that that is done, I have something to say.:  
  
Look, I ask for something not to happen, and it happens worse than before. Whoever "Heir of Slytherin" is, could you calm it down man, seriously. The whole comments on my updating schedule is my issue, please don't send a review like: "its been 17 days since the last update, at least update this weekend" and stuff like that. I mean, it'd be ok if you at least shared ideas on the story or something, but you don't even do that. Come on man, I have other things on my mind besides this story, and you are completely messing me up. That doesn't make me write faster, it makes me purposely stall the updates in hopes that you will STOP DOING SHIT LIKE THAT!  
  
*returns to nice TK voice* ok, now that that is out of the way, thanks everyone who reviews, no matter what you say in them. And all my AIM friends that I talk to about this story, I have named two this chapter, ShadowMaster1755 and Seratu Mionata, and also Alia(thankies goddess ma'am for the support) thank you all soooo much for dealing with me. The others too, but these have been my main group. NymphGirl, Wes, Myob and Newage_Hy on MSN too. Thanks all you guys and the reviewers. Let me know what you think!!!  
  
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	10. Chapter 10: Slyther

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A/N: okay, many people have wondered about last chapter. I figured I'd leave you all confused by the storyline and not a cliffhanger last chapter. So everything gets explained here. For those of you who like the chapter length last time, this might make you happy.   
  
Also, this chapter will give a look in my idea as to why Big Bad Voldie can be beaten by Harry possibly. There's something in the Last Potter…you'll see.  
  
Oh, and Alia, this is for you…lol, I don't do fluff…ok?  
  
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Harry awoke the next morning, pain gripping his body like a cold glove grasping him in its smothering grip. But even with all of that, a light of calm was forcing a heat through the cold. And it was slipping up his fingers along his arm and heading toward his heart.  
  
And as soon as it hit his heart, a blast of emotions hit him. They were complete opposites all at the same time. He felt pain but felt incredible pleasure. He felt sadness but felt like leaping up right then and there and jumping up and down in happiness.   
  
And through all of this, the golden light he had seen not to long before in his dreams had exploded across the inside of his eyelids. And his eyes opened to the faint glow of the rising the sun. It was just to that point of beginning to peak over the horizon that it cast a dull sheen of gray on everything in the room.  
  
Harry sat his head up slowly, and sighed one of those frustrated, mentally exhausted sighs. And as he prepared to stand up, Heather stirred slightly, and there was a slight tugging of their joined hands. And slowly her eyes squinted open. It wasn't so to the point that she was awake, but her consciousness was damn near tap dancing upon the borderline.  
  
Harry gently released their clasped hands and headed toward his trunk. He reached down to open the top to find said top in his hand. He didn't remember undoing the lock, or lifting the top any. But the lock was laying on the floor and the top was in his hand. He lifted it and peered inside. he reached in, pulling out some clothing and a towel, along with his toothbrush and his toothpaste. He then headed up the stairs. He went looking and eventually found a bathroom. He entered it and turned the shower on, letting the water heat up.  
  
Placing the toilet cover down, Harry sat down and placed his head in his hands. He sighed deeply and replayed everything that happened in the last few hours through his mind. He couldn't figure so much out. And the majority of it all stemmed from the black bass guitar he had charged into the fight with. There was something in him, or in it, that changed his very body, his heart and his soul.  
  
It was like, after he leapt from that window, the world changed. It felt like the guitar he held was drawing something out of him, something buried deeply inside of him that he had never known was there. But had always been there. It was a feeling he got as it left him. Almost as if he had been wearing a mask that was ripped from him. He felt its loss even if he didn't know it was there to begin with.  
  
He sighed as he moved his hands, feeling the steam thick in the air of the bathroom. He undressed and got into the shower, simply standing under the fairly hot rain of water for a few minutes, his head down and the water falling all over him.  
  
As he did this, his mind slowed finally. Everything became normal again, nothing was going all too fast anymore. And this state made his mind calm to a point where he was in a sort of conscious sleep. He was still standing, but lost in a kind of deep day dream.  
  
And as he spaced out, his mind was rushed with a literal out of body replay of every even that had transpired in the past few hours. And this showed him something he didn't know or realize before. Something had to be wrong for the Order to have seemingly abandoned him, and the rest of the Wizarding World too.  
  
He made a mental note to ask Tonks later. But as he intended to come from his little mental rest and go back to the world, it was as if he was walking towards the door back to the Real World in a way, and a hand grabbed him and dragged him back to another door, another place in his mind.  
  
And as he was brought here, he felt it.  
  
He was back in the complete Darkness. He was back to being in the World of Dementors. But there was something wrong. Something was very different.  
  
Because as soon as he seemingly "entered" the Darkness, something happened that had never happened before.  
  
All the Dementors all turned to him.   
  
And before him was a massive room full of the most disgusting, frighteningly shockingly evil eyes he had ever seen.  
  
And even as he observed those vile eyes…He heard something. He heard something very very frightening.  
  
The Dementors spoke. All at once, and all in a horrifying, pain-inducing, maniacal voice.   
  
"Give us our souls…give us our lives. Give us what you took from us. NOOOOOOOOOOOW!!!!!"  
  
And the droning NOW seemed to mute into a monotonous squeals and thus cause so much pain to Harry that he was literally thrown back to the world around him, his feet slipping and his footing losing its grip, and soon his body was falling backwards. And with a dull "thud" against the porcelain tub, the world went black, and thankfully, only black of unconsciousness.  
  
******************************************************************************  
  
Harry opened his eyes some time later to the murmuring of voices. He cracked open his eyes to see a hazy golden sheen over his vision, but with his rapid blinking, this cleared up quickly, allowing him to see the concerned faces of those surrounding him. Zoe, Kirstin, Lindsey and of course, Heather. His eyes still felt heavy, and he made to close them again before the meory of his "episode" surfaced.   
  
His eyes flew open and his hands moved to cover …himself…but upon placing his hands over the area, he found his body covered. He sighed in relief before wondering something. Who covered him exactly?   
  
He finally worked his way toward a near-standing position. He staggered slightly, and the girls rushed to him to help him stand. He walked some more before finding he wasn't in the bathroom anymore, but in a bedroom, but in a bedroom.  
  
He opened his mouth to ask how this had happened when the door opened and in walked Tonks. And behind her was a person Harry recognized immediately. Much faster than what his mind told him he should have been able to, as the transfiguration was flawless. And upon request from Tonks, the 5 girls left the room, so there were only two.  
  
Harry,  
  
And Albus Dumbledore.  
  
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A/N: Some people saw this coming, some didn't. Well, it doesn't stop there.  
  
******************************************************************************  
  
The man's eyes lacked all the usual bright happiness and love for life they used to have. Now, as the man stood in the room, his blue eyes seemed dead and for maybe the first time in his life, Harry saw the Headmaster avoiding Harry's eyes. A flick of his wand informed Harry of what he believed to be a sound-proofing charm, and a click told him the door was locked.  
  
Dumbledore broke the silence.   
  
"Harry…Harry…Harry. Once more I feel that I owe you an apology, this time a much greater one than before. There is a lot I must explain to you, and I fear that, after all of this is found out by you…everything will be different. Yes, you may be more informed…but also so much more resentful towards me.   
  
I fear I may have lost your trust."  
  
Harry eyed the older warlock warily. There was something about his countenance that alarmed Harry. He knew one thing, several things would be found out in this conversation that would change his life. So he took a seat on the bed, finding a pair of cotton sweatpants under him, he stood and pulled them on before sitting again, facing the older man.  
  
"Let's see…I guess its best to start where all stories should start."  
  
"And where is that?" Harry asked.  
  
"The beginning my dear boy. The beginning."  
  
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A/N: The next section is Dumbledore telling Harry this story. It will not be done in quotes, as Albus becomes the sort of narrator.  
  
******************************************************************************  
  
////Story Start////  
  
A very long time ago there was a king. He was powerful, respected and a strong force of good.  
  
Now this was long ago, when magic was a force known all over, and it was still strong. It was still powerful. It was still connected to the Source…it was still pure.  
  
Well, this king was fighting a war against dark forces. Something happened to his original sword, and he went to his Chief Warlock and Blacksmith for a new sword. A new weapon to engage the all too powerful enemy.  
  
Now this king, he had the most powerful and loyal servants under him. And the Chief Warlock worked with the Blacksmith to create a weapon worthy of a king.  
  
And after 2 years, it was created. The perfect weapon. Laced with such magic, such pure good magic, that anyone filled with malice and evil intent would be obliterated a mere touch of its power. And with this weapon, the king went into battle.  
  
Attacking many enemies, the sword lived up to its purpose, and decimated half of the forces of evil alone. However, this was not without consequence. For you see, they say evil is not a person or an idea, but an entity. An energy. And muggle physics state energy can neither be created nor destroyed. Meaning, the power of this darkness had to go somewhere.  
  
And soon the evil…or more accurately, pieces of the souls of the enemies the sword killed were drawn into it. And it steadily made the sword stronger…but it also made the sword begin to gain a conscious. It began to bring the sword to life.  
  
Now the sword eventually grew so hungry, feeding off of the evil of its enemies, that it sucked their souls out, feeding on the power it gave it. Now, the sword was inherently good, so it could not deviate from that, but as a bi-product of losing their soul in that matter…something odd happened.  
  
Now they are called Dementors.  
  
Yes, the origin of Dementors is all due to that one weapon. Dementors, evil warriors missing their souls and forever cursed to have to wonder forever missing their souls and having to live off of the happy memories projected by others…slowly sucking others' souls away to feed their lack.  
  
Now that is not the true story here. It was believed that the power of the sword was too great. And because the more power one gains, the easier it is to corrupt, the sword was worried about. Also it's dark presence was becoming a liability to the King. So the sword was locked away.  
  
And over time the sword began to lose power. Well, not lose as much as forget its abilities. And over time, the sword slipped from legends, overshadowed by its replacement in history. So many people never knew about this.  
  
////Story Break////  
  
"And might I ask what the hell this has to do with me?" Harry asks, running the story through his head and finding no way this could relate to him.  
  
"Then allow me to continue."  
  
////Story Continues////  
  
Now, it was a big secret where the weapon was stored. You probably didn't know what your father did. Well, truth is, you father was a very famous and successful Cursebreaker. And during one of his missions, he unearthed the weapon. And because he could sense the power he had, he brought it to me.  
  
Finding out a fraction, a mere portion of the surface power it possessed, I placed it in the hands of your parents for hiding as they went under Fidelius.  
  
Now, something few knew about your mother was, she was a very interesting case in the world of Divination. She didn't believe in it. At all. She actually made Miss Granger seem like a devout follower of said magical subject in comparison. But the dilemma was, she was arguably the most powerful Dream Seer in the past century. Her Dreams were often prophetic, and not until their hiding had she begun to read up on this ability. And not until the final point in her life did she finally come to terms with the power she herself held.  
  
The weapon was stored with them when Lily had a Dream. This one showed Voldemort coming, and Lily knew there was no way for them to get away from this. But she also saw the severity of the situation that would arise should the man formally known as Tom Riddle get his hands on the Sword.  
  
So, she found something very odd. There was a long-standing investigation on what Muggles call Imaginary Friends that the Ministry's MMI, MMI standing for Muggle Myth Investigation, department got a hold of. Your mother was head of this department, her roots gaining her a great advantage in this.  
  
Upon her research into this topic, she found it possible to forcibly disembody a soul, and to join a soul to something else, usually, actually always something inanimate.  
  
Now, I had voiced to them before they accepted the weapon into their home that there was some type of soul underneath, which was what held the true power of the weapon. So she knew the sword had a soul in it, but yet she still intended to allow it in anyways. So just hours before Voldemort arrived at Godric's Hollow, she did something very risky. But all too important.  
  
She disembodied the soul of the sword and bonded it to something else.  
  
"And what would that be exactly?" Harry asked lamely.  
  
"That…would be you Harry."  
  
////Story End////  
  
The room grew deathly quiet. It was all too lonely inside his own head. All there was was the screaming. The angered, pained, violated screaming.  
  
"And Harry…this means that there is a power in you greater than one person could usually possess. But it will not come out in its entirety for a long while and over a long process. But if…no, when these powers actually come out in full force, it would be possible for you to destroy Voldemort with something as remedial-seeming as a full-body bind."  
  
Dumbledore paused for a short while to let Harry take that all in before continuing on.   
  
"But that is not why I am here. I am here in fact to inform you of a growingly difficult situation. You see, in the Wizarding community at the moment, issues have arisen about your custody battle. And since the events of last night, the fight for your custody has reached a fever pitch. And I daresay things are going very wrong.  
  
News of these developments could not be brought to your attention, as we now see there was a freeze on all owl post on Number 4 for a long while. Actually not specifically Number 4, but more on you. No owl coming to you could be guided to you. Which may have been why you might have noticed Hedwig having gone missing after delivering your monetary transfer from Gringotts'.  
  
On top of this, it seems that the Death Eaters breaking into your house had no intent of engaging you. It seemed that the Go-To was dropped off in your room in the expectation that you would be missing. It seemed that the panic the Dark Forces caused in killing the Dursleys was intentional."  
  
"But all those Death Eaters for 3 muggles? Something else had to be wrong."  
  
"Exactly." Dumbledore smiled at Harry's quick thinking and deducting skills. "they were to patrol Privet Drive, killing everyone in the area. Then they intended to pin it on you. That way, you are in muggle prison instead of Hogwarts. And a much easier target."  
  
Harry sat there, running everything through his mind. He had just been informed a centuries old, possibly older, super-powerful weapon had grown a soul fro killing people, and said soul was now joined to his own. Then his owl post had been blocked, and he had just escaped a stint in Muggle Prison for possibly up to a few centuries, until he was as old as the damned sword.  
  
"What was the sword's name?" Harry asked. He didn't know why he asked this, but it seemed that it was expected for him to ask a question, and he figured he should know the other side of his soul if he was going to be living with it as a part of him he acknowledged.  
  
Dumbledore's face seemed to change. It wasn't a change Harry recognized well, but knew it happened. "The sword was put down in history…as being named after its creators. The Chief Warlock and the Blacksmith were related, brothers actually. The sword was named for them. But because of the weapon's apparent adjustment of sides in the war of good and evil, it gained a prefix." Harry sat there watching the older man dance around the question like a 10 year old ballerina.   
  
"The Sword's name is Dark Slyther."  
  
Harry sat there, running this information through his mind. "However, the 'soul' of the sword that resides in you fashioned a name for itself. Nox Eternal, meaning 'forever night'."  
  
Harry sat there, wanting to bang his head into a wall from information overload. It seemed Dumbledore saw this. "I know this is a lot, but there is something you will have to realize. Dark Slyther will steadily unlock more and more, gaining more consciousness the more negative emotions you experience. The more anger, pain, hate and sadness you experience, the more it comes out. Feelings of needing to protect someone or guilt will do this as well. And the more it awakens inside of you, the more it forces change to your body to make you prepared for said power.  
  
So you will change, and you will become more physically powerful. Faster, stronger, more agile. But be careful. This power will take getting used to, and will need to be trained. Having little trained power is better than an abundance of raw power in what you are getting ready to do in this war. And this training will begin as the year does."  
  
And wit these words Harry sighed, thankful it was all over in terms of these revelations. "Now, all we need to do is find a place for you to stay for the moment."  
  
"I think I can stay here. None of the Death eaters know about this place or these people, and most of them didn't even recognize me. I think I'll be safe here.   
  
Wards would be nice, but not too restricting and not at the exact moment, but I think I need to be around my friends. I already feel like a bastard for not contacting Hermione last night, but I couldn't with everything going on.   
  
So I think if its okay with you, I will stay here. And maybe at some point I can go over and visit Hermione. With a guide or escort of some kind I guess."  
  
Dumbledore nodded and smiled, the twinkle returning to his eyes. "You are maturing greatly Harry. I am proud of you. More than you will ever know." and then the older man stood, his tan safari shorts and blue Hawaii shirt a contrast from his usual clothing. His beard and mustache were trimmed greatly, and with the blue baseball hat he wore, oddly backwards, he looked like a very crazy Santa Claus. Harry suppressed this thought and went, shaking the man's hand before he left. However, Harry had one last question.  
  
"Who got me out of the tub?"  
  
Dumbledore turned and smiled knowingly. "I sensed something wrong, so I used a little spell that all teachers at Hogwarts have to learn that covers a student's, necessary parts, before entering the room and moving you."  
  
Harry smiled and uttered a thanks before the older man left the room. And Harry went over, sat heavily on the bed and sighed loudly. He laid back and stared up at the ceiling. "So I am a weapon now truly. Makes sense I guess. But I figure, if I have to be someone's weapon, I might as well be able to do it right. The faster I get to the power level Dumbledore told me about, the faster I am able to kill that bastard, the sooner I can start my own life."  
  
And with those words, Harry stood, jogging from the room to have one last talk with Dumbledore. The older man was just about the leave the house with Tonks walking him out when Harry got downstairs. "Wait!" He shouted and ran over to the door. "I think it'd be good if I got some kind of training in. What would you suggest?" Harry asked, his civility to the situation amazing even himself. He normally would have been pissed to the 15th power by then with finding this out, but he was calm about it.  
  
"well, I guess anything physical you can do, do it. And perfect it as much as possible. Keep your emotions in check, and watch your back. Running would be a good idea to increase you agility, and try some kind of strength-training. There will be a number of things this year that are based on your physical strength and not just your mental strength in school this year, so its best you get used to the power you have."  
  
Harry nodded before turning and heading into the living room area, hearing the TV blaring quite loudly. He was glad Dumbledore had thought to avoid any talk of magic even with the loud noises, as he wanted to explain nothing to his friends. At least not just yet.  
  
******************************************************************************  
  
As he walked back into the living room area, he observed Heather laid out on the couch. Zoe was sitting on the couch, half laying, but with her back propped up so she could see the TV. Kirstin was sitting across her lap, reading a book, or trying to as Heather kept kicking the book every so often.  
  
As soon as Harry entered the room, he smirked at them, none of them noticing his entry to the room. He slipped up behind the couch and caught Zoe's eyes. She smiled and motioned toward Heather, who was laying on her stomach, propped up halfway on her elbows. Harry slipped behind her and covered her eyes with his hands. She started as if she was going to panic, an action that didn't go unnoticed by the three other people in the room, but then she relaxed. She smiled and half mumbled, half moaned Harry's name. And this action made Harry smirk.   
  
He noticed movement, but before he could turn to investigate, his hands were grabbed and he was pulled to the back of the couch, and eventually over the side. He was then pulled to he was laying on the couch on his side, and Heather snuggled her back up against his front in this position, going back to watching whatever was on the TV like nothing had happened.  
  
Harry looked over to Zoe and Kirstin, who were now sitting on the loveseat across the room, Kirstin on the arm of the overstuffed chair, and Zoe in the actual seat. Kirstin was back to her book, or at least pretending she was reading it, as Zoe pretended to watch TV. But Harry knew they were both watching him and smirking. So he took one arm and wrapped it around Heather's lower waist, and to his surprise she took her hand and covered his with it and snuggled back into him a bit more with what sounded oddly like a purring sound before she was back caught up in the show.  
  
Harry looked at Zoe and Kirstin, and they both raised an eyebrow at the same time, smirking mockingly. Harry rolled his eyes and then, instead of trying to watch the TV he closed his eyes and just felt Heather, the world for a little while. Allowing himself to just forget the world for a little while. He just calmed his mind and laid there, for once feeling like he was a normal teenager, with his friends and a girlfriend and a normal life…wait…  
  
Harry's eyes shot open. He had just referred to Heather as his girlfriend. And as he wondered this, he wondered if that was such a bad thing.  
  
What he didn't know was, this entire conversation with himself was not only playing in his head, but very softly out of his mouth. And right in Heather's ear. And she smiled softly and her hand took his on her waist and she intertwined their fingers together.  
  
And within 20 minutes they were both asleep. And Zoe and Kirstin looked at them, smiling weakly. But triumphantly.  
  
"You know, this time with him has been the only 2 times in a long while that she's been able to sleep. Its like, she only feels safe with him. Since the whole rape thing, she's been up and hyped off coffee. But he's like a calm for her. We might have been right. They need each other. Well, at least she needs him." Kirstin muttered.  
  
"No, trust me. With what he's going through, he needs her just as much as she needs him." Tonks said as she entered the house, sitting on the floor next to the chair, observing Harry and Heather.  
  
"So, what was up with the old guy?" Zoe asked bluntly. "He was Harry's great grandfather or something, huh?"  
  
Tonks simply nodded. "Me and Harry got to go somewhere tomorrow. He wants to visit an old friend he didn't get to catch up with when he wanted to, so we are going to have a little reunion tomorrow." And with those words and a nod, the house quieted considerably, the TV's volume dropping slowly over time, just slowly enough for everyone to not notice so much. But there was one odd thing in the whole thing. The remote control was on the floor the whole time.  
  
And Harry was having dreams of gold and angels. And as he heard the noise blaring and felt the form in front of him stirring from it, he willed it away. And the golden light blared, his deep emerald eyes flashing under the lids, golden light flashing across his lightning bolt scar.  
  
******************************************************************************  
  
It was a weird feeling for Harry as he awoke. His eyes opened and he realized that, for the second time in a row, he had a good sleep. Actually, he had a great sleep.  
  
He cracked his eyes open to feel some of Heather's hair tickling his nose. He smirked just slightly and then debated whether to wake her or not. Normally he wouldn't have, but he had to go to the bathroom. Badly.  
  
And as he wondered this, she stirred in her sleep some, and rolled over on her back, her hand slipping from its hold on his to a more neutral one to her side, her other arm slipping off the side of the couch.  
  
Harry sighed and then grabbed the arm of the couch, which was right above his head, and the back of the couch. He slipped his legs over the back of the couch and then pushed his upper body up and over the back of the couch. He sighed and then walked up the stairs to the bathroom.  
  
He exited the bathroom to run into Kirstin. Literally. He smiled at her, as she did the same to him, and then he moved out of the way to let her into the bathroom. However, before she closed the door, she looked back at him as he walked away, and sighed softly. And as she closed the door and turned around, she smirked to herself. "Heather, you got a good one here. Damn well perfect, if not for you, then for me. You had better open your eyes girlie." And with that she turned on the shower, adjusting the water temperature.   
  
From there, Harry went to his trunk, withdrawing his clothing for that day and then beginning to change. He had changed to the point that his pants were changed and he was going for his shirt when Heather and Zoe both stirred. It was odd, but literal moments after one, the other began to move.  
  
Harry smiled before pulling the shirt on and grabbing his black hooded pullover in his hand and slipping a black baseball cap on his head and then headed toward the door. He thought it better to leave before having to confront anyone as to where he would be going for the day, he knew it would not cause a great uproar of approval with the three girls.  
  
"  
  
He had already arranged it with Dumbledore for his transportation on the Knight Bus, and there would be extra security watch on him as he moved from his current place to his destination.  
  
And as he walked out of the house, he caught sight of J-Roc sitting on the porch, a guitar on his lap and his right hand strumming on it, a lit cigarette in between his fingers. There was an anger and a sadness around him that Harry could feel resonating from his friend.  
  
"What's wrong?" Harry asked, slipping his hands into the little pocket on the front of the pullover after putting it on, staring forward, as was J-Roc.  
  
"Robin." Was the other boy's answer before lifting the cigarette to his lips and talking a puff. The smoke was much thicker than the fog leaving Harry's mouth on the cold morning, the sun still M.I.A.  
  
"What happened?" Harry more commented than asked.  
  
"Gary happened."  
  
And with that comment both boys continued motionlessly, J-Roc taking a breath from the cigarette every so often, Harry's breathing coming out almost consistently as J-Roc's.  
  
A guy came walking by the front of the house, and then toward them, a long haired girl wrapped under his arm protectively.  
  
"That him?" Harry asked matter-of-factly. J-Roc simply nodded, and yet, neither person moved.  
  
Robin and Gary came up to the house, and they both looked at Harry and then J-Roc. Robin regarded them both. "Harry. Justin." with a nod and then she walked through the gap between the two. Gary followed, and kicked J-Roc in a way to make it seem accidental as he climbed the steps. However, the kick caused the seated boy to drop his cigarette and it flipped over, and burned his hand.  
  
Muttering expletives, he shook his hand in pain. And Harry reacted as if the motion was pure instinct. Harry spun and slammed his fist into Gary's jaw, knocking the boy off his feet and off the porch and onto his back on the concrete.  
  
And without even looking back at the consequences, Harry started down the street, fingering his wand that was tucked away safely in the side pocket on his pants.  
  
Circling the block, Harry stuck his wand down the sleeve of his pullover and then stuck his arm out, summoning the Knight bus without making it look suspicious to anyone following him, and the bus appeared right as he turned the corner. He slipped on and told Stan his destination and the bus disappeared, just as Heather and Zoe rounded the corner, having been chasing him to make sure he would be ok.  
  
Harry leaned back in thee seat on the bus, closing his eyes and exhaling slowly in another exhausted sigh. The person next to him lowered their raised newspaper and regarded him from behind the dark sunglasses.  
  
Had to make such an entrance did you?"  
  
"Shut up Tonks. If this is an omen of how this day is going, I'd rather go back to the Durs…" and his words drifted off as the realization hit once more that the Dursleys were, for better or worse, no longer a threat to Harry's happiness.  
  
"Let's just hope Herms takes you stopping by at the crack of dawn as a sign that you couldn't wait to see her, and not a sign that you are a deranged stalker."  
  
"Yeah…Let's cross our fingers, shall we?" And Harry went back to silence and Tonks went back to her paper. Or, she pretended to, as she still watched Harry out of the side of her sunglasses. Anyone looking wouldn't have been the wiser. But yet, a smirk appeared on Harry's otherwise emotionless face.  
  
"Go back to reading your little Witches' Weekly hidden in the paper Tonks, and your crap article on 'how to find a good Wizard' and stop watching me, ok? Ok." and with that Harry was quiet again, his eyes never having opened since he took his seat on the bus.  
  
"You are a strange one Potter." Tonks muttered to herself as she flipped the page in the magazine begrudgingly at Harry's mockery of her search for a good man.  
  
Harry smiled to himself again, feeling the sun's peeking light as it inched over the horizon as the bus ground to a halt.  
  
Knowing this was his stop, Harry stood and finally cracked open his eyes, Tonks following suit after folding her newspaper/magazine and placing it under her arm. She then followed Harry off the bus and onto the faintly illuminated sidewalk.  
  
Tonks led the way across the street to a nice suburban home, clean cut and calculated in its layout and maintenance. Exactly as Hermione seemed to be…well, at school anyways. But, Harry had seen somewhere that everyone goes through their teenage rebellions differently, and he figured Hermione's was becoming as…anti-Hermione as possible.  
  
Deciding not to read into it much, Harry adjusted his pullover around his body as the cold took little nips at every inch or exposed skin on his body. He walked up to the door as the sun rose behind him slowly, Tonks standing on the walkway still, observing the area silently.  
  
Bringing his hand up, he wrapped on the door several times, and when nothing happened for a few minutes, he repeated the action. After some time, Harry turned to Tonks. "She does know we're coming…right?"  
  
Tonks nodded, and Harry raised his hand and knocked once more. After some time, he was turning to leave when he heard a muffled voice through the door that he faintly recognized. "We don't want any girl scout cookies…" the voice said groggily before there was a click as the door unlocked before it was flung open by the small thin form behind the door.  
  
It was actually comical as she stood there, much smaller than Harry was, her hair wrapped and tangled around her head, one lone tendril hanging down in front of her face as the rest either sat atop her head or around her neck. She was rubbing the sleep from her eyes as she stood in front of the door in her night shirt with little yellow rubber duckies on it, and matching shorts and slippers. She looked very innocent as she stood there, and this brought a smile to Harry's face.  
  
She finally cleared her eyes and looked up at Harry as he stood there in her doorway, and she wondered what the hell whoever was standing there wanted. He was a tall form, and although fairly attractive, she did admit, it was barely dawn, and she had a weird fear to slam the door, lock it, and berate herself for not checking the eyehole before opening the door for a stranger.  
  
But there was something about him…and he didn't seem like he was going to kill her or anything, so she pulled on the Gryffindor courage she supposedly had and opened her mouth to speak, albeit in a shaky voice.  
  
"Uh…can I help you?  
  
There was a moment where the sun was behind him head that disrupted her view of his face, something she hadn't gotten a truly good look at yet because of the darkness, and as that moment passed, the realization hit her like a truck.  
  
Although much darker, she knew those eyes. Though longer, the midnight black hair was still the same. And though much taller and more filled out, the frame was still recognizable. And the scar across his eye may have been new, but the one in the center of his forehead, faded and hidden very well, was still there, as faint as it was.  
  
And no matter how much he might have changed and have become a different person, and even as the dawning of a new day came and her sleepiness abandoned her, she could still tell who it was. The only thing that could have stopped her from ever recognizing him would be her complete focus on someone else or something else, or a rum 'n' cola or two. And missing both of these, she recognized him as clear as the sun rising behind him recognizes the sky as its home.  
  
"Harry…?"  
  
*******************************************************************************  
  
A/N: Ok, there goes another chapter. Figured I'd end it on a fairly interesting note since a lot of people got all prissy at me about the whole Harry-Hermione interaction from the last chapter. So…here. Happy Now?  
  
Now, here is my typical story comment. If you liked this chapter at all. I mean f'n period. Like, there was even a hinting of you giving a flying fu…you get it, well, thank Ms. Alia West. Were it not for her, I dare say this chapter would have been a load of crap. This past two weeks has been literal hell on me, and either this chapter would have not come for a loooooong time, or it would have been the lowest of the low in the realm of hell. This I feel is much better than it was, and that is with just some of her changes, I got too damn lazy to put them all…sorry Lordess, I shall do better next time….  
  
But anyways, lemme know what you think, please fell free to contact me through e-mail or AIM, and another great amount of love to my AIM crew, ya'll know who you are. If I talk to you on AIM, then consider this chapter dedicated to you…oh, and the MSN people too. But above all, this is to Alia.  
  
Oh, and Dark Mage 320…thanks for pointing me to the story. It's a great story called Highway To Hell by Master Eldryn. I really like it, and you should check it out. This is placed here in the intent that you will check it out after you have read this chapter. I'm all for promoting other's work, send me a link to yours, I'll check it out, might end up here in my soon to be created :TK's Story Reference List.   
  
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	11. Chapter 11: Forgotten

  
  
Last Time on SoH...  
  
"Uh...can I help you?  
  
There was a moment where the sun was behind him head that disrupted her view of his face, something she hadn't gotten a truly good look at yet because of the darkness, and as that moment passed, the realization hit her like a truck.  
  
Although much darker, she knew those eyes. Though longer, the midnight black hair was still the same. And though much taller and more filled out, the frame was still recognizable. And the scar across his eye may have been new, but the one in the center of his forehead, faded and hidden very well, was still there, as faint as it was.  
  
And no matter how much he might have changed and have become a different person, and even as the dawning of a new day came and her sleepiness abandoned her, she could still tell who it was. The only thing that could have stopped her from ever recognizing him would be her complete focus on someone else or something else, or a rum 'n' cola or two. And missing both of these, she recognized him as clear as the sun rising behind him recognizes the sky as its home.  
  
"Harry...?"  
  
And Now... Chapter 11   
  
Hermione stood there, her eyes watching before her, but not really seeing. She had spaced out, and all there was to prove her still being conscious at all was the sparse moments of her blinking.  
  
Harry looked at her and then proceeded to wave his hand in front of her face. She began rapidly blinking and then looked back at him. She looked him in the eyes and then up and down again, before turning and walking, drone-like into the house and taking a seat on the couch, leaving the door open in a motion that instructed him to follow her. He did so, walking in and looking around the house as he walked through the foyer and into the living room area where Hermione was sitting, seemingly staring forward at the television, which was off in all actuality. And as Harry finally made it into the room Hermione was in, taking a seat next to her, he saw a look on her face he had never seen before.  
  
Complete cluelessness.  
  
They sat in silence for a while, an uncomfortable one, something neither of them were used to being in each other's presence. Finally Hermione looked up at him, blinking as if she had just been woken up. She looked him up and down, observing the changes that had come in the short time since they had last seen each other.  
  
And as her eyes finally rested on his, they widened as she saw the scar. She ran her hand from the bottom of it to the top, Harry closing his eyes to allow her to do this undisturbed. Finally she moved her hand to cup his cheek in her hand, bringing his face, which he had lowered, up so he was looking at her.  
  
"Harry...What, How...Who?" And over this short sentence her eyes went from sadness to a look of righteous anger, like she was protecting something of her's from other people, like a mother bear or something similar.  
  
Detailing the events of that day, leaving out Heather's name, just saying a girl, he watched Hermione as he recounted the story, wondering exactly what she would say when it was over. But whatever he imagined was exactly what she didn't say. What she did say seemed like a comment from another conversation completely.  
  
"And my main question is, why the Order just let u wander from your house like that. They need to be more watchful."  
  
Harry gaped at her, wondering where her mind was. Finally the normal thoughts kicked it and she began asking the questions he figured she would and he dreaded answering. Finally it got to the question he had been worried about answering for so long.  
  
"Who was the girl?"  
  
"You know her actually." Upon seeing the confused look on Hermione's face, Harry finished. "Her name is Heather."  
  
It had been 2 hours since Harry had gone in, and Tonks was getting edgy just standing outside of the Granger House. It was boring, but she knew better than anyone how much the two needed their time alone. She had steadily watched them over the last year, and saw the two of them. Saw how, no matter how much Ron tried, they were the friends in the group. Ron was, as much as he hated it, the third wheel between them.  
  
And Tonks was, for all she wasn't, a very observant person. That was where her true Auror abilities had been outside of Stealth & Concealment. And she cringed to think what would happen to the three of them should Ron end up attached to Hermione. She had learned from Ginny that the boy was, in fact, infatuated with the only member of their three-man group not actually a man. Hell was banging on its gates, begging to be released and let loose upon the mass populace that was Hogwarts.  
  
And as she reflected on this, she heard a clicking of the lock on the door and it opened. Hermione stepped out, fully dressed in more typical "Hermione clothing" than Tonks herself had seen two nights before, as she wore a short-sleeved white button-up shirt with khaki pants. She immediately wrapped her arms around herself, feeling the cold. She reached in to just inside the door and grabbed a large brown coat, pulling it tightly around herself.  
  
Following her from the door a moment later was Harry. His hood was down as he stepped out, and the wind blew in a slight breeze, effectively sending his thin stands of hair everywhere, and for a moment it looked as it usually did, messy as hell, just a lot longer. And, all by itself, it seemed to straighten out and lay down, still out of place, but not the usual way it was. He groaned and ran his hand through it before searching on his wrists and arms and eventually his pockets for something.  
  
Head still down, he stuck his hand out toward Hermione, whose back was to him, but at that exact moment held out a thin rubber-band like hair tie to him. He tied back his unruly hair and they were walking down the street.  
  
Tonks looked to Hermione, but before she could ask the girl had clarified the situation completely. "I'm walking with you two until you get on the Knight Bus, and from there I am going to a friend's house down the street. I feel the least I can do is walk with you two as far as you are going. I owe that much..." and with that she was silent. Tonks was left in the dark completely by this statement as they headed down the street.  
  
Eventually they made it to designated spot where they would be leaving from. Tonks held out her wand and called the bus. Tonks turned to get on first and Hermione looked at Tonks and smiled, waving before taking Harry's arm and moving him over to the side of the bus. They seemed to be talking animatedly about something for a minute or two before Hermione looked at him with a look akin to awe, sadness and pain all at the same time.  
  
She grabbed him forcefully and hugged him close to her, almost like she didn't want to let him go and then she stepped back. The sun caught her face in a way just so that Tonks could see the evidence of her tears streaming down her face before she said one last thing, turned and ran down the street from them.  
  
Harry stood there, watching her for a while before turning, his head down slightly as he raised his hood around his head and clambered onto the bus, far from the coordinated Harry Potter that Tonks had come to know in the time she had since known him, and especially far from the Harry she had come to know during the time she had spent with him during the summer. He damn near fell into the seat next to her, and his head fell back against the back of the seat, staying there as he sat, immobile for the entire ride back.  
  
Upon getting off of the bus, Harry began quick, long strides that put distance between him and Tonks all too fast for her. She knew where he was going, there was something about his body demeanor that told her that the second he got off the bus. But as he was walking, Tonks about a block behind him, suddenly something or someone grabbed the side of him and pulled, and Harry disappeared from view. Tonks panicked and rushed, her feet falling quietly and quickly. Her wand was hidden up her sleeve in a wrist-activated holster of sorts, standard issue for field operatives such as herself, and she prepared for a fight.  
  
But as she happened upon where Harry had been pulled, she found an alleyway, and then a fence. She looked to the fence and then over it to find a familiar-looking house with many familiar looking people in the back, soaking up the abnormally bright sun that was beginning to come from behind the clouds.  
  
Pulling herself up, Tonks scaled the fence and landed and watched as Zoe lay on a chair in a bikini, apparently tanning, as Kirstin did the same, only she was slightly propped up to read a magazine of some sort. Heather was missing, and J-Roc and a few other people were off the side with instruments, talking and playing a few chords as they discussed a few things. Tonks relaxed, knowing wherever Harry was, one, was where Heather was, and two, he was safe.  
  
And was Tonks ever wrong...  
  
Harry sat there, on the bed in Zoe's room. Heather had dragged him in there, sat him down and then disappeared into the large closet.  
  
Harry laid back for a moment, calming himself down as he brushed the hood back, replaying his life over and over again in his head. He still had yet to see anything he himself had done to end up in the hell of a life he was living, but the future, or the time being, was looking up, and he felt that he was owed that, and he would live it up. He felt safe, he felt that everyone around him, for once, had his best interest at heart. They only wanted for him, what would make him happy. And the thing that would make him happiest, was Heather.  
  
But as the door to the closet opened and Heather wandered out, seeming lost almost, a fact solidified in Harry's mind. No, not everyone was trying to do what was best for him. Most, but not all. You see, Harry realized at that moment,  
  
Heather was, in fact, trying to kill him.  
  
She stood before him in a white bikini top that clung tightly to her, and a pair of tight jeans. The white of the top brought out her eyes, and her hair was up in a way that showed off her neck. Something that proved to be a mistake as it was all he could focus on.  
  
And she turned to look at him with the most innocent but sexy look Harry had ever seen, and then winked and made a move toward the door, somehow finding a way to walk right by Harry on the bed to get to the door, which shouldn't have happened if she was heading directly for the exit.  
  
Harry growled as she walked in such a way as to ensure that he was watching her, and he finally just grabbed her around her waist and lifted her up onto the bed. She laughed and they laid there together, her body on his as their eyes met.  
  
"You know, one of your eyes is darker than the other...it's the one with the scar. Did it happen because of the..." Harry shook his head to this and made a "shhh" sound to quiet her with the questions.  
  
She looked indignant at this, but it was quickly replaced by a seductive, "I'm here but you can't have me" look. Harry saw this and proceeded to do something very childish. He stuck his tongue out at her. She rolled her eyes, but then watched him intently. And they laid there, staring at each other. Finally Heather made a growl of impatience before speaking.  
  
"You know, I lay here, waiting for you to do something, and then you don't. You frustrate me, you really do." Harry looked at her in confusion. "If you aren't gonna do it," and she began to sit up. She eventually was in a seated position, and Harry propped himself up so he was leaning back on his arms, "Then I will." And with that she grabbed the back of his head and pulled him to her, kissing him deeply.  
  
She broke the kiss and looked at him. He began sputtering over words more and more and she rolled her eyes. She pushed him back onto his back on the bed again and then resumed her position on top of him, looking at him again. Harry, for the most part, looked incredibly confused.  
  
Heather sighed. "You're so cute when you look completely clueless." And with that she began kissing him again.  
  
Zoe and Kirstin arose from their chairs for drinks a few minutes after Tonks and Harry had arrived. Upon entering the kitchen, they had each pulled out a cola. As Zoe was drinking her soda, Kirstin had made a comment on the type of food left in the fridge by the other girl. This had made Zoe laugh, thus, the brown soda sprayed from her mouth as she laughed, and ended up on the other girl.  
  
"Nasty!" Kirstin shouted as her light-colored suit was specked with the drink. Zoe apologized and then they both headed upstairs to grab a new suit for Kirstin. As they headed up there, Kirstin began untying the top of her suit, holding the top to her chest with one hand as she tinkered with the tie with the other.  
  
As they opened the door and walked in, not noticing the two kissing teenagers on the bed, they moved across the room toward the closet. Entering the closet, still clueless, they looked for a new suit. Upon not finding the white one they had been looking for, they walked out, looking around for it in the room. And as they came out, chatting to each other about a possible location, Harry and Heather sat up, looking for the source of the disturbance. And the 2 sets laid eyes on each other. And with a screech, Zoe's jaw dropped and Kirstin's did as well, her arms dropping as well, which allowed the flimsy material that had been her top to flutter to the ground.  
  
Harry's eyes grew very large as he sat there, gaping. And he would have looked for longer, but Heather's hands immediately went up to cover his eyes. His hands moved to move her's, but she mumbled to him, "Move my hands, I take your eyes."  
  
Harry's hands sunk down in defeat and he sat there with his eyes covered until Kirstin was...covered. And then the hands were moved and he opened his eyes to see everyone in the room at least fairly decently covered. And Kirstin and Zoe's eyes were both focused directly on him.  
  
"Now, we'd both call you a cheating bastard and an idiot on top of that, cheating on both of us with her, giving up two for one, but seeing as this was the point of the whole thing from the start, and we see no point in getting mad, we won't say any of that. But we will say this." Kirstin started. Zoe finished for her, as the later girl turned to look at Kirstin.  
  
"You owe us. So, whenever we want or need him, you are obliged to...oblige." Heather cocked her eyebrow, sitting there looking the two girls in they eyes with her arms crossed, not looking too amused. "What! Friends share, don't they?"  
  
Harry tried not to laugh as they all smiled at each other, revealing the whole thing was all a joke. But as he looked at the two girls eyeing him out of the corner of their eyes, he wasn't too sure. But he shrugged to himself as the newcomers left from the room, leaving Heather and Harry alone.After a few more kisses, they both stood and headed out of the room and down the stairs. The second they made it down, their hands joined together, J-Roc appeared, and grabbed Harry's shoulder. "I was looking for you. Where were..." And as he said this his eyes caught their joined hands and he smirked. "Well, Heather, can I borrow your man-servant for a bit, we have group practice and we need to get everyone familiar on the same playing style."  
  
Harry rolled his eyes, and so did Heather, but the girl nodded and released Harry's hand after they shared one more kiss. Harry walked over to the place he had stored his guitar, lifting it up, feeling the familiar feeling of life in his grasp. He held it for a moment and smiled as he heard the familiar voice.  
  
"So...been a while." Kris was quite for some time, and then suddenly she spoke. again. "There's something in here Harry. Something powerful. Its in you, its in me. And I am really scared...I don't know what to do. I mean...its like, every time you pick up this guitar, I feel it."  
  
"I know what it is. Don't be scared...It can't hurt you."  
  
"I'm not scared its gonna hurt me. I'm scared of the power I can get from it. Its forcing energy into me, and I...I'm worried about what might happen if I..." She stopped and stayed quiet.  
  
"What...?"  
  
"Nothing. Nothing at all." The cheerfulness appeared in her voice once more, and Harry could feel the smile coming from her. He forced the thoughts from his mind, turned and headed outside to where he had last seen the group that was apparently the band J-Roc had spoke of.The group all turned and looked at Harry as he walked over, the guitar slung over his shoulder as he held the neck of the long bass in one hand as he jammed the other hand deep inside his pocket, walking completely carefree as he whistled a tune none of them knew.  
  
J-Roc apparently had introduced him before he arrived, leaving everyone smiling happily or eyeing him apprehensively.  
  
A girl with long dyed black hair with pink streaks in it and deep brown eyes smiled at him, her hair held atop her head by two black sticks with some kind of pink tape spiraled along them. Upon closer inspection, these were found to be drumsticks, and as Harry observed her, he found even more sets, some sticking out of her boots, others stuck in the side hems of her skirts, while even others were slightly visible as they stuck up in the back of her bikini top. So, seeing this and not being a complete dunce, Harry figured her as the drummer of the group.  
  
"Name's...well, everyone calls me DJ. Call me that until I feel I like you enough to tell you my real name." She said matter-of-factly. They clasped hands upon her initiation to shake hands one firm time before she dropped his hand like it was diseased and walked away from him back over to the little platform where the pink and black drum set sat, reclining back somehow on the drum with an "I-Don't-Give-A-Damn" look across her fairly pretty features.  
  
The next person to step up revealed something to Harry's mind. J-Roc was the only male in the backyard of the house that day. Which meant, J-Roc was the only male in the group as Harry saw it at the point.  
  
This girl had a weird amber shade of hair that looked very interesting next to all the other group members, Harry himself included, that had black hair. She looked up to him with a confidence that was not as, for lack of a better term, rude as DJ's, but it was felt and it was there.  
  
She had a look to her that was familiar in a weird, "I've seen you before, but who the hell are you" kinda way. Her eyes fell on him as a simple green color, with a hazel ring around the edge. Her nose was small and slightly pointy and she had a dash of freckles across her nose, and seemingly nowhere else.  
  
A long pink guitar hung from her hand by the strap, dangling back and forth slightly with her ever-so-barely-there movements, this one a normal "lead guitar" with 6 strings, unlike Harry's 4 string bass. Also strapped to her back was another guitar, this one a left-handed lead guitar, the strap going across her body to keep it attached to her. This confused Harry some, but he smiled at her, as she seemed to not mind the fairly long silence, as she seemed to be looking at him as well.  
  
She didn't take his hand, simply nodding at him and smiling some. "J told us that you are a crazy guitar and bass player, and a voice to boot. That means you and me gonna be good friends. Nice ta meet ya." She smiled again before pulling her hand up quickly, effectively tossing the guitar into the air. She caught it with her right hand by the base of the neck and then stepped away from Harry, lifting it and flicking a few strings softly so only she could hear what she was playing.  
  
J-Roc noticed Harry's look about the reception, or lack therefore of that he got from the girl he had just met. "That's ol' Em For you. She's actually ambidextrous, so its rare she touches anything. Her hands are very important to her, so she only touches people she trusts."  
  
Next and last to step up was a girl Harry was sure he had seen before. She was the girl that had been working in the music shop the day they all found out that Harry had some talent with the guitar. She had black hair cut so that it was fairly long and simple, reaching her shoulders at its longest and layering to get shorter on the sides as it went further up. There was a long strip of hair that fell before her face, which was dyed a pink coloring, and her deep blue eyes seemed to dart around excessively, to look more and more around her as if she was looking for something or was slightly paranoid. She walked up to Harry and smiled again, reminding him that they had met before.  
  
"Yo, I'm Shannon. Everyone calls me Shae though, dunno why. Those other two ditzy girls showed their part in our little group. Me, I'm actually the 'DJ' of the group. "Upon Harry's clueless look as he glanced between DJ and Shannon, she smiled sympathetically. "You see, I rock the turntables. A little scratching here, a little record sampling there, and when everyone needs a break, I get to do a set or two of music at gigs."  
  
Harry nodded and smiled at her before she reached up and ruffled his hair, which has since come out of the tie during his kissing time with Heather. She winked, turned and walked away from him.  
  
J-Roc smirked and then motioned for Harry to join the group over by the platform. The only instrument set up that was not accounted for by the girls was a keyboard, which J-Roc proceeded to go and sit behind before everyone began to talk.  
  
"Basically we need a new name. The last name was an incredibly corny one, just taking out initials and putting them so they made something semi- coherent, however, now that Harry has joined us, we are gonna have to come up with something new. Something...better."  
  
J-Roc said this, glancing around to the members of the group as if trying to think of something himself and make it clear that they should do the same at the same time.  
  
Harry flipped the bass back over his shoulder and was about to play some of it when he began looking around for his tie. Every time he looked down at the guitar, his hair fell in his face. He muttered to himself, "damn it, where is my tie? I must have forgotten it." He concluded and was about to walk away when J-Roc shouted.  
  
"That's it."  
  
"Uh...What's 'it' exactly Justin?" Shannon asked in a moderate amount of annoyance.  
  
"The name. I got it. Well, Harry got it."  
  
"And what is it exactly?" Shannon asked, still annoyed.  
  
"Forgotten."  
  
"Alzheimer's already. Ain't it a bit early old man?"  
  
"No, dipshit, the name is Forgotten."  
  
There was silence for a moment before identical smirks spread across everyone's faces, and nods went around as everyone agreed.  
  
"Uh...ok, great, so can I go get my tie now?" Harry asked once everyone had agreed and was silent for a moment or two.  
  
Emily looked at him. "No...I like it like that. Looks better that way. You don't stand out as much." She smirked and then went back to the guitar, further ignoring his presence on Earth after stating this.  
  
J-Roc clasped his hands and smiled. "So, now what that is set, let's see what we can do with Harry here."Within the hour the group had found the workings or each other with Harry thrown in the mix and found that the ability to have the keyboard working with the bass and not alternating was a great addition to the group's ability to increase the music they could make. And Harry sat back on one song as they showed how it was done, as it was the set "closer" for any gig they played.  
  
An insane melody where Emily, the brunette girl, sang her heart out in a song of love and loss to a heartbreaking background bass tune before all hell broke loose as she rocked the bloody hell out, her hair flying and her quick nimble hands slammed away at the guitar so perfectly that her anger and her emotions came out in the music like waves of empathy that chilled Harry's bones to the core as he could almost see the music forming into beings, acting the song's amazing story out before his eyes.  
  
And as he listened, he strummed along to J-Roc's bass playing, eventually falling into the rhythm along with the song.  
  
And as the song played out, its insane rhythm seemed to fall into a crashing stop as the melody just stopped, long before Harry thought it would. So he was left rattling the chords out to the long on his bass, his eyes closed even after every other member of the group had stopped.  
  
J-Roc saw this and told Harry to replace him and the J-Roc listened and attempted to find the gap that Harry had voiced, and think of a way to adjust it and work in some keyboarding.  
  
And as it got to the point where Emily was to began playing, she grabbed up the left-handed guitar, placing the one she had been playing down, she began to play strongly. Harry was listening, and strumming the bass to the tune. And as the song winded down, he found it. He caught eyes with J-Roc as he realized the problem at the same time.  
  
The anger simply..._died_.  
  
It fizzled out. And with the words of the song, Harry and J-Roc had an idea. The song ended and they both went over to talk, and then came back, instructing the group to take the song, once more, from the top.  
  
When it got toward the end, Harry spun the bass around on the strap so it was on his back and then reached down and picked up Emily's right hand guitar and slipped the strap over his shoulder and adjusted it to prepare to play. She played her final chord before the drums were supposed to take a few repetitions of sound to echo the song out when there was a long, wailing chord. It was challenging in nature, and fairly distressed.  
  
Within two strums, Emily had either caught on or just naturally was competitive enough to play into what was supposed to happen. Exactly what Harry and J-Roc had planned. _Only worlds better_.  
  
Soon there was a full-fledged guitar battle, wailing, long, powerful notes that expressed the emotions of fighting lovers as they tried to be together but knew they couldn't. Pain, Fear, Sadness and Anger all together and all combined into an argument between two 6 string guitars as they cried their souls in a rain of sound waves and reverberating amplified emotion.  
  
And as the song ended, DJ and Shannon sat there, gawking and in shock. J- Roc was blown away, and Emily and Harry were completely oblivious. At some point during the playing they had locked eyes, their hands moving free from their minds or all intentions from them. And they stood there, eyes locked as they seemed caught somewhere between existing and the limbo-like world that the music they played had painted before their eyes through their ears.  
  
"Damn." was all Emily and Harry could say as they came out of their trance at the same time and spoke those words at the same time.  
  
And sticking her hand out, Emily smiled at Harry. Harry shook her hands. "You are one crazy bastard. Nice to find another one out there. I was starting to think I was the only one left."  
  
"We are a dying breed." Harry replied, smiling to the girl. She smiled back.  
  
And with the two of them together, Forgotten would be sure to be a band to be remembered.After a few more hours, the band had solidified a few songs, along with the one that they had been working on, which Harry found to simply be named "Leaving". A song that had taken a lot of work was the first song that would feature Harry singing. He and Emily had come up with the deep bass-line for the song long before the words were put to it. It was a shaking beat that made the amps vibrate and the ground rattle when the strong chords were slammed, and the drum rhythm in the background was fast and heavy on the snare and kick drum. The lead guitars were fleeting and simple, one 6-string strum as the other instruments paused before the chorus hit and everything went insane.  
  
The song had been created by the music being made, and they put Harry up there and let him sing whatever he felt.  
  
The music began and he was silent, playing the deep bass tones as if it was second nature, his mind focused on the words he wanted to say. And when they came out, it was a flood of emotion that was almost as deep and haunting as the melody, his voice that of a lost child, vengeful at the murder of the sweet world he had constructed around himself. A child seeing death, and refusing to go into its depths without someone to torment for all eternity. Refusing to go to hell on his own.  
  
As Harry stopped playing and singing, J-Roc nodded as he had been writing down some things. They all came together, telling Harry it was a strong performance of true emotion, and that there was little they could do as a group outside of touching it up on parts and making it less repetitive and cleaner for actual play. They finalized the chorus, and Harry went over it, singing it to himself, finally seeing what he had sung down on paper. While he had been singing it, he had not been listening, just singing. Trying to get everything out. And he had to admit, the chorus, which was the only part of the song set at that time, sounded good.  
  
_I Refuse...To go into the Dark   
That you push me into, with your Talk  
Talk   
Talk   
You think you have me   
When all my friends have left me on my own   
But I can assure you of one thing,   
I will Never Die Alone!  
_  
So, due to the last line, and what the song seemed to be about, they decided upon naming the song "Never Die Alone", and it was Harry's first song and his second contribution to the group since he had joined, and it hadn't even been a day yet.After all of this was done, they decided to just play some music and mess around in the pool and just chill out. Harry found out that Zoe's house was the hang-out spot in the community during the summer. No rules and a place to be while their parents worked. And eventually it got to the point that the kid's parents never seemed to worry about where their kids were.  
  
No, not where they were, only...what they were doing.  
  
A bunch of teenagers alone in a house was asking for trouble, and even Harry, with his previously limited knowledge about teenage hormones, little exposure outside of the whole Percy-caught-in-the-broom-closet incident and the one kiss he had gotten from Cho, knew that things would go on if they hadn't already. And he was able to make a speculation on what happened or was happening when he headed up to the room that he would be staying in, to sleep on an actual bed and he opened the door to find Gary and Robin both half naked, snogging with some kind of vengeance on the bed he was to sleep in. Neither noticed him, too caught up in each other, but he closed the door, turned and slid down the door with his back against it. He sat there, rubbing his eyes for a good few minutes. When Zoe came up the stairs and saw him, she got closer to him.  
  
"Harry...What's...are you ok?" she asked. She heard him muttering to himself and was soon able to make out what he was saying.  
  
"I'm sorry eyes. I am so very sorry. So sorry you had to see that. Oh the_ pain_! The _horror_..." He acknowledged her after she asked for the second time what had happened, and he simply made a motion to the door behind him before standing up to allow her to peer in. It was, after all, her house, and she should know the goings on inside of it. "I warn you before you look in. There might be things in there that could actually make you lose sleep and possibly wish to remove you brain just to forget them."  
  
She looked at him in confusion before she opened the door and glanced in before pulling the door closed quickly and simply staring at the door for a moment.  
  
"Poor Justin..." was what she said first, and then was quiet for a moment. And then she turned to him with a look on her face of complete disgust. "You could like, so braid the hair on his back and his chest. It's..._nasty_! I mean, come one, he has more hair on his back than on his head. Looks like a damn werewolf he does."  
  
Harry sniggered before both of them started heading back down the stairs. Suddenly Harry stopped in his tracks. Zoe turned and looked at him, as he looked thoughtful and moderately disgusted. "I refuse to sleep on that bed or in that room ever again." He shook visibly from disgust, and Zoe smiled and nodded. But then she thought of something as they finally descended the stairs and came to the living room.  
  
"Well, if the rest of the girls from J's band stay here, then we are out of couches, and since no one will want to be in that room until the sheets are changed and it is sprayed for fleas and such, then we are short places for anyone to sleep." Harry looked thoughtful for a moment, and Zoe looked like she had figured something out. "Well, we could always throw one of those hoes on the floor and you could take one of the couches or something. You get first priority as you are my..._'friend'_," she smirked dangerously, "and Heather's new man now."  
  
Harry half blushed, but shook his head. "No, I can grab the floor. No sense making the girls sleep on the floor. I've slept in a cabinet under the stairs for years, I'm sure I can handle the floor for one night."  
  
"Awww...aren't you the gentleman." Heather said as she came up. Harry wasn't sure if she was mocking him or was really being truthful about what she said, but he was sure there was a little of both sincerity and sarcasm in the statement. "Seems we are in a predicament. No sense having Harry here sleep on the floor, can't have his back hurting tomorrow, since we, as usual, will be doing absolutely nothing. So," she gave him a wink, "he can stay in my room with me."  
  
Zoe raised an eyebrow at this and shrugged, "Your call." and she walked away.  
  
Harry looked at Heather quizzically, and she smiled at him, running her hand through his hair affectionately. "So whatever happened to your room?" she asked. Harry explained the Robin and Gary thing, and Heather didn't look surprised, but fairly disappointed. Harry was still watching her, and she looked him dead in the eyes. "I like you Harry, I really do. More than even I understand. But nothing like that is gonna happen tonight. I'm...I'm not ready for that right now. If you need something like that, then I don't know if I am the girl you need to be with..." Harry cut her off by kissing her square on the lips.  
  
"Oh do shut up. You talk too much." and he knew where to hit her to get her to shut up quick, fast, and in a hurry. "You're starting to sound like Hermione."  
  
And she shut up and then narrowed her eyes at him, growling in frustration. And then a look fell across her eyes. "And exactly how do you know what Hermione sounds like?" Harry, however, saw this look and chose to not answer the question and wander away, whistling to himself like he hadn't heard her. "Answer me!" She yelled after him. After repeating this a few times, Harry still walking away, whistling louder each time she yelled, she growled and chased after him. She caught him outside just standing in the backyard, finally stopping with the whistling.  
  
She jumped at him, grabbing him over his shoulders and effectively landing on his back. She wrapped her legs around him, so that she was in some weird kind of piggy-back-ride-like positioning. She wrapped her arms around his neck and started half-biting his neck from behind him. It was closer to kissing, but there were slight bites that steadily got harder and harder.  
  
"Heather, get off." He said calmly. She seemed to ignore him as he repeated this a few times. She smiled into her kissing and biting and continued her actions. "Stop before I have to make you stop." Were Harry's final words.  
  
"Are you threatening me, lover-boy?" she asked mockingly. Harry growled and then wrapped his arms around her legs to hold her so she didn't fall, and proceeded to jump forward.  
  
And right into the swimming pool.  
  
Heather detached from him in the water, and they swam around under water for a second before surfacing. She splashed him in mock anger, and this lead to a massive splashing war, which ended by Harry swimming under, grabbing Heather about the waist, lifting her up from the water above his head and tossing her back into the water. He went under, and when they came up, their mouths joined tightly together, as if they were searching for life in the other's mouth.  
  
After breaking the kiss, they looked around to find everyone at the house sitting there, staring at them. Tonks smirked to Kirstin and muttered just loud enough for the two to hear, "Young love. So Cute." This comment earned her a splash, which lead to a whole huge splashing war as everyone who was wearing swimsuits, being Kirstin, Zoe and Tonks, and ever a few who weren't, like Shannon and Emily, jumped into the pool and everyone splashed everyone.As all of this was going on, J-Roc sat on the side, just far enough not to get splashed, but close enough for everyone to know he was there, sitting in a dry lawn chair, tinkering with a guitar, plucking strings here and there and then pausing to scribble down something on the notepad on his side. And this position left him in the perfect positioning to see the two that came out of the backdoor next.  
  
The splashing war was just dying down when Robin and Gary stepped out of the hours, Robin in swimwear, Gary looking like he was preparing to leave, both looking slightly apprehensive of where they were. J-Roc observed them for little more time than it took for him to turn, see them and turn back to what he was doing. Zoe had been getting out of the pool and standing there, Harry had to admit, looking drop-dead sexy. Heather seemed to see this and smiled, snuggling against his body, her back against him as he had leaned back, reclining against the side of the pool. Both were watching, but when Harry saw Robin and Gary, his stomach started to turn.  
  
Heather seemed to feel this, even though she was facing away from him, and turned and looked him over. She followed his eyes and looked at Gary, and then looked at Harry again. She smiled, "You can't have us all Harry. You got me, Zoe and Kirstin, leave Robin to her own" she said mockingly, but the smile that she expected to see did not appear. Heather looked at him, turned his face to meet her's and gave him a look that clearly stated, "What happened".  
  
"Well, I went up to the room, you know, I told you. Well...you see..."  
  
"Spit it out."  
  
"He has more hair on his back and his chest than most dogs have on their entire bodies." Heather visibly shuddered thinking about this, and she looked at Harry angrily.  
  
"I _so_ didn't need to have that image in my head. Thanks a lot."  
  
Harry shrugged, and the turned as Zoe was heading over to the two. And she did something no one expected. She pulled back her hand and slapped her open palm across Robin's face. Gary looked taken aback, as Robin looked stunned with her head still to the side. Zoe raised her hand for another slap, and Gary reached out and grabbed her hand. Everyone figured this an understandable action, but when he did next was not. He pushed her arm, and furthermore her body, back and she stumbled before falling and plopping down right on her behind, looking up in shock.  
  
"You hairy bastard...how dare you. How fucking dare you put your hands on me like that in my own house..." She trailed off, muttering to herself. Heather tensed up and whispered for Harry to get out of the pool and get over there and stop whatever was going to happen. Apparently Zoe was very angry, so angry in fact that all the people that knew her tensed up as she stood up, still muttering angrily.  
  
Harry got there just in time to grab Zoe around the waist and hold hr back and she literally lunged at Gary. Her fingernails slashing and her eyes narrowed, her beauty became gorgeously primal as she struggled against Harry to become free and get to Gary, who was looking much like a small cat would have felt locked in a small room with Fluffy, or for that matter, anyone not Hagrid left in a room with Fluffy.  
  
Still restraining Zoe with one arm, Harry turned to Gary and slammed his fist into the hairy bastard's face, effectively lifting him off his feet and sending him back a few feet and onto his back. "Never touch her like that again if you value your life." He said so calmly it was chillingly frightening and then turned from Gary back to hold Zoe back.  
  
Harry finally was able to calm Zoe down by lifting her and sitting himself down on a lawn chair, holding her waist still as she sat there, half on his lap, half trying to get away every so often when she thought he had thought she had calmed. So this left him with this still damp, very sexy girl squirming around while seated on his lap, as his girlfriend watched from nearby.  
  
Harry looked up to the sky and growled. "You hate me, don't you? Just playing with me aren't you? Messing around, putting me in situations like this for the hell of it, just to see what I'll do." He thought, trying to project these thoughts to whatever higher power that was. As he did this, still clutching to Zoe's thin waist as she mad a move to escape every so often, he missed the fleeting escape of Gary who was still massaging his sore jaw, and the fact that Robin had been told to follow, and did so much like a scolded dog follows its master when shouted at.  
  
So, still sitting there, Zoe made no move to get up, and Harry had long since stopped paying attention, too caught up in his hate for whoever it was that decided that "Messing with Harry Potter" was the new National Pastime.  
  
And thus, within moments they both stopped what they were doing, Harry lifted Zoe off of him, walked to the side of the pool where Heather was wading, trying to act like she was ignoring him, and then he dove in, tackled her partially in the water, and once more they came up deep in a kiss, but this time they both got out of the pool and headed over toward the grassy area to discard the soaked non-swimwear and then dry off before going inside, as everyone voted on a movie-night before sleeping.  
  
Standing there as Heather slipped her jeans off of her, or tried to as the already tight jeans were about as joined to her body as her arms or legs, Harry watched her. Her curving body looked oddly complex with the waning sunlight hitting it just so, and Harry pushed another thought toward "The Creator".  
  
"Sure broke the mold with this one didn't you? And for all the stuff you put me through, I only have one thing to say to you." Harry glanced at Heather once more. "Thanks."  
  
And he walked over to her as she had just bent down, dropping her jeans and was beginning to stand back up. He wrapped his arms around her midsection as she started to stand more, yanking her body against his tightly. He whispered into her ear, "I don't know how I have gone this long not being like this with you. It seems too natural. Too right to have taken the time it took. To have not been like this since time began."  
  
She turned and looked at him, her eyes glistening slightly with tears barely maintained. She kissed him hard on the lips before looking into his eyes. Checking them for something it seemed. Finally she started to pull his shirt off, yanking at it, trying to tear it from him. He smiled, his wet shirt was sticking to him just as her jeans had done to her, and as it started to give under her anger, a voice called and interrupted.  
  
"Get a room you two!" Kirstin yelled.  
  
Heather smirked at the other girl. "We have one! Mine!" and she turned to Harry and fake-whispered loud enough for everyone to still hear. "Meet me there tonight lover." and with that she winked overly obviously and then turned headed into the house, grabbing one of the towels placed by the door on her way in.  
  
Harry shook his head and then turned and started to follow her in, lifting his shirt with ease and then draping the towel over his shoulders as he entered.They all had taken over the living room, moving the furniture to be placed in such a way that everyone was separated into little groups, but none far enough to not be able to reach the popcorn or the mound of soda pops collected in the center of the room as well.  
  
Seemed that no one wanted to lay on the floor, so all of the couches were snatched up early. When Harry and Heather got down the stairs, both having needed to change and opting to take turns with the shower to wash the chlorine off their bodies, there were no couches left, and all that was left was the floor. Heather took matters into her hands and eventually was able to eject Shannon from her seat in the recliner...literally.  
  
With a kick to the reclining lever, the girl had gone from peacefully sprawling out on the laid-back chair before the movie, to looking forward to see the floor. Heather giggled sardonically and said, simply, "seniority" and with that, she confiscated the chair. Shannon smiled, showing she saw little funny about the whole situation, but got up and went over to the couch that J-Roc had claimed for himself.  
  
He was laying flat out, the cover wrapped around him and a tune coming out as he hummed to himself. Shannon walked over and pushed him over so that he was forced to lay on his side. She lifted up the covers, laid down, and pulled the cover back over them both again.  
  
Harry sat in the chair, Heather taking her place on his lap as they took the cover that they had gotten and wrapped it around them both tightly, not for need of warmth, but more for a comfort thing. Heather took the initiative to explain the situation between the two to him, even though Harry hadn't asked. He had wondered, but not asked. It seemed to be happening a lot, that she knew what he didn't and took it on herself to explain it.  
  
"They aren't like that. She can manipulate him better than anyone in the world, outside of Robin. Well, probably more because he is slightly afraid of her. Overpowering personality. She only likes people mentally stronger than her. People with backbone. And J hasn't gotten one when it concerns her. So she takes it on herself to play with him. Oddly, she's very protective of her 'puppy' as she calls him. I'm surprised Robin isn't dead right now." Heather finished this sentence before grinding her body on Harry's trying to find a comfortable positioning. "What is that?" She asked, as something was poking her in the upper leg on the back of her thigh.  
  
Harry muttered to himself for thinking to keep his wand with him. He hadn't know that he would be playing Lay-Z-Boy that night to a 17 year old girl who liked to wiggle around to get comfortable. But he couldn't tell her it was his wand for two reasons. One, the obvious magic exposure, but two, and even more importantly embarrassing, the double meaning behind that was something Harry refused to even mess with.  
  
Instead he simply told her to sit up. He pulled off his pullover, which he had taken to wearing often as the pocket in the front was a great help in storing his wand, and that it kept him quite warm while also keeping him fairly protected from people's eyes and the world around him.  
  
He set the sweater down next to the chair and Heather snuggled back into him as they started the movie, all watching, in their different little groups, Harry and Heather, Kirstin sitting with Zoe and Tonks, And Forgotten minus Harry, as J-Roc and Shannon shared the couch while Emily and DJ sat on the floor, their backs propped against the couch's side.  
  
In short, it was good times, and a lot of fun for Harry. He was simply Harry. And he was just a teenager.  
  
And he had a family.The movie had long since ended and the static running across the screen was little more than a slight annoyance, not enough to wake anyone in the room from their sleep. All but Harry. His senses were on hyper-mode it seemed, as, the moment someone moved in the room, knocking over the empty popcorn bowl, he awoke to the sound.  
  
He sat there feeling Heather breathe and such for a while, but her head was hanging off the side of the chair, and he knew she would feel that pain in the morning. So he lifted her up as softly as he could and ascended the stairs to the room they would be sharing.  
  
He set her down in the bed and then covered her in the covers before getting in himself, pulling her to him so that they were close together, as, the moment he had set her down and moved away she had started to awaken slightly. He ran down the stairs, retrieving his pullover and making sure his wand was in place, replacing it in his trunk before heading back into the room to find Heather half awake, looking around groggily like she was completely lost. Once back in his arms, however, she had begun to fall asleep once more, and he followed closely behind, finally feeling free and not worried any longer.  
  
And sleep came quickly. And this time, he was in his dream. But it wasn't. It was empty and calm, nothing outstanding from anything else. But with the steadiness of a sleeping person's heartbeat, a pulsing golden light pulsed in the all white world, and with every beat it got brighter and more consuming. And finally it filled him and it became too bright to look at. And he shut his eyes in his dreams.  
  
When he opened them the golden light began to recede in intensity and steadily reduced to a very, unnaturally light light-brown color. And steadily it wasn't so all-consuming. Visually it wasn't, but it began to take over more and more inside of him as he realized the color and its source.  
  
"Hello love. Nice of you to wake up." Heather commented before kissing him lightly. "Now get up. We're going somewhere."  
  
Harry looked to the window and saw that it was still the dead of night. "But...why?" he stammered, still sitting up and getting ready to go regardless of his protests. "I wanna sleep."  
  
She scoffed and got ready herself. "Trust me. You'll love this." She said with not a hint of confidence of this statement in her voice before they headed out of the room and down to her car.  
  
Before they got in, Heather pulled him to her and kissed him deeply. She looked him in his eyes again, once more seemingly searching, and then got in the car. Only, oddly, it was on the passenger side. Harry looked at her in confusion.  
  
"Come one then, don't stand there like a complete dolt. Get in and drive me somewhere. Its only proper that the guy drive the girl, not the other way around. So drive."  
  
"I don't know how."  
  
"I'm gonna teach you, you idiot. Now get in and start the car."  
  
Harry did as instructed and she began explaining simply reversing and mirror-checking, as well as the importance of gear shifting at times and the threat of him damaging her car came as well. Harry interrupted her though. "Why? I mean, why are you doing this?"  
  
"Because driving is something very important to me, and it will be to you too. We are alike in that sense. We don't like people telling us what to do or telling us where to be. Telling us how to live our lives and what we have to do in them. And I learned to drive from someone special to me. Someone else like me...like us. And you are gonna need the same care. The same instruction. The same feeling I get when I drive if you intend to be around me much longer." She looked at him in mock-frustration and annoyance. "Besides, I am tired of chauffeuring your sorry ass around town, time you repay the favor." Harry smiled and they backed the car from the house, heading down the dark street at an unholy hour of the night, no one awake.  
  
Well, no one outside of the blonde who started his silver BMW silently and drove behind the other car with the lights cut off, matching the speed perfectly as to trail the couple without being seen.  
  
Tim had vowed revenge. And he'd be damned if he didn't get it.A/N: Yo peeps, me back! Well, here's the new chapter of SoH, and it took so long as life is very important to me, and things occurred that could have ended said life and subsequently this story, and I figured it best to finish those things up first.  
  
Now, I love u all, thanks for making this the best story I have written thus far, now keep this in mind, as, I have a few things to say.

First of All, guess what peeps? I'm putting AM through a huge re-write, closing loose ends and such. So I have a question. Should I turn AM into a post-OoTP story, or leave it completely AU? Lemme know. That leads me into my next point...  
  
I love being contacted, its great as I will often discuss story directions and on my own, let u know before-hand how the chapters and stories are going, and even give u heads-up on new stories I have in the works or story directions. however, please do not AIM, MSN, or E-Mail me saying "update" or asking when I will. its annoying and inconsiderate of me as a person. It makes it seem that, according to you all who do this, that my only purpose in life are these stories. I do what I can, I am still in school, I have a lot of people in my house to be older-brother to even though I am the youngest, and I have a lot on my back. So, encouragement is good, rushing and anger is not. Thank You.  
  
On another note, a new story is currently in the works, as I have said, called FFOmega, which is the working title. I will probably split it into 3 stories, and it won't be posted until it is into the story to a certain degree, so I get no rushing e-mails, as this one is even more suspenseful and insanely active than even AM or SoH. So, strap in, there will be a big announcement upon its arrival, and I hope all of you will check it out and stick with it. If you liked any part of AM, then this will be the story for you.  
  
The next story to be updated, as I have planned it, will be a new chapter of Roger's Summer Arts Program, which is in the waning hours of its existence. All things will be found out and all important things will be fixed. And in the end, Action will slam into all of you in the most unexpected way. Time is on my side here, so, trust me, be ready.  
  
Thankies to all the great people, and feel free to AIM me at Dream4Nightmares, or send me an MSN message at my e-mail address, and let me know what you think about my writing, or feel free to suggest things or whatever. JUST DON'T DEMAND CHAPTER UPDATES!!!!!!!!!!!  
  
Peace, Love, and Trust Your Heart, Your Brain Rarely Knows What The Hell Its Talking About.

This has been a Public Service Announcement Brought To You, In Part, By the Kyoto Nox Foundation For The Destruction of Stupid People. So...Kiss Half The World Good-Bye. 


	12. Chapter 12: Surprises

**_A/N: This Chapter has a tentative rating of about R. This is to test it out and see how it goes. More information about the rating despute is in the A/N at the end of the chapter._**

Last Time on SoH...

* * *

"Come one then, don't stand there like a complete dolt. Get in and drive me somewhere. Its only proper that the guy drive the girl, not the other way around. So drive."  
  
"I don't know how."  
  
"I'm gonna teach you, you idiot. Now get in and start the car."  
  
Harry did as instructed and she began explaining simply reversing and mirror-checking, as well as the importance of gear shifting at times and the threat of him damaging her car came as well. Harry interrupted her though. "Why? I mean, why are you doing this?"  
  
"Because driving is something very important to me, and it will be to you too. We are alike in that sense. We don't like people telling us what to do or telling us where to be. Telling us how to live our lives and what we have to do in them. And I learned to drive from someone special to me. Someone else like me...like us. And you are gonna need the same care. The same instruction. The same feeling I get when I drive if you intend to be around me much longer." She looked at him in mock-frustration and annoyance. "Besides, I am tired of chauffeuring your sorry ass around town, time you repay the favor." Harry smiled and they backed the car from the house, heading down the dark street at an unholy hour of the night, no one awake.  
  
Well, no one outside of the blonde who started his silver BMW silently and drove behind the other car with the lights cut off, matching the speed perfectly as to trail the couple without being seen.  
  
Tim had vowed revenge. And he'd be damned if he didn't get it.

* * *

It hadn't taken long for Harry to get the hang of the driving thing. Outside of the driving thing coming fairly easily to him due to his ability to figure things out from watching Heather drive.  
  
Heather screaming every time the telling sound of the gears stripping wasn't too much of a hindrance either.  
  
So, soon enough Harry had gotten on the Highway and they had steadily worked their way to London, and then back to Little Whinging. But as Harry mad to make the turn-off, Heather instructed him to turn to take an exit before the entrance back into the city.  
  
And as they drove through town, Heather instructed Harry to pull into the lot of a large building. And as Harry did, Heather shut the car off from her side. And as she was leaning over, she glanced up to meet Harry's eyes. She leaned up and pressed her lips to his. She shimmied over until she was about sitting on his lap. Her lips kept pressing more and more into his, almost insistently, and Harry had no problem with that. She pressed her lips into his, and suddenly there was a click and Harry was on his back in a reclined position, Heather kissing him more and more.  
  
And as Harry came to get more into the kissing, Heather pulled her head back just so. She pressed her finger to his lips as he made to protest. Then she motioned to the back window. There was a bright light shining through, like a car's headlights.  
  
"Someone's been following us since the moment we left the house. I noticed it, and I knew that they would want to strike against us the closer we got back to the house, and the car has steadily gotten closer."  
  
Harry nodded before somehow maneuvering so he was rolling on top, so Heather was slightly under him. In doing this, he was able to determine how close the car was to them. He reached up and pulled his shirt off, and as he was doing this, he somehow moved to hit the button that lowered the top.  
  
For some reason, the top decided to lower, even as the car wasn't on. The top coming down dropped the view of the car behind them, and Harry slipped out of the car slowly, knowing the focus of the person in the car would be drawn to the lowering roof.  
  
Slipping from the driver's seat on the American-made car, Harry dropped to a low crouch and snuck from the driver's side of the Mustang toward the passenger's side of the car behind them.  
  
The silver BMW was still sitting there. As Harry snuck behind the car, heading toward the driver's side by circling around the back, the driver turned the lights off, and there was a sound as the doors unlocked. It was clear whoever was in the car was intending to leave the car and make a confrontation with the people they had been stalking.  
  
As the door opened slightly, Harry had come upon the driver's side. He yanked the door open and grabbed the person in the car by his shirt. He made to pull him out, but there was resistance, and Harry realized that the person, clearly a guy, had his seatbelt on.  
  
And this cost him a hit. Harry was solidly slammed in the groin by a punch from the seated attacker, which left him sprawled out on the ground clutching his pained area.  
  
The driver unbuckled himself before standing up and leaving the car, giving a solid kick to Harry's form. Harry glanced up, and saw the blonde hair and the designer preppy clothes that made him realize who it was.  
  
Tim.  
  
Tim walked over to the car and grabbed Heather by her hair and pulled her up and out of the car. She slammed into the ground painfully, groaning lowly as she scratched at the offending hand that held her.  
  
Tim pulled her hair so her face was to his, and he kissed her. Not as a sweet kiss, but as a kiss that was meant to slam his lips into her. He was near raping her mouth, and when he was done kissing her, he pushed her away from him and she fell back onto her back, a trickle of blood falling from the corner of her mouth.  
  
Harry saw all of this in a haze as he worked to stand up. And as this haze increased, it became a darker color, making the world of already completely pre-dawn shadows even darker. But he saw and felt everything clearly. His body tensed as Tim walked to Heather and kicked her. She had curled up, and his foot hit her leg, but it was enough to illicit a groan and shout of pain from her.  
  
And something happened. The storm in the gray clouds overhead threatened to break. There was a brilliant flash of lightning that showed to Heather's eyes, Tim's foot back for another kick, and Harry in the background, a good 15 feet away. And the thunder boomed seconds later. But as it did, Heather felt nothing. No pain, no thing. She just heard skin slapping concrete near her as the thunder died.  
  
She turned, and as the lightning stuck again, lighting the area some, she saw Harry straddling Tim's Chest, his arm back for a punch. And as the light died and the thunder sounded, she heard a slam near her and then another. And it didn't take much for Heather to figure out what was happening.  
  
She forced herself up, running over to Tim's car. She turned the lights on on the still started car. But before she did, she saw another flash of lightning that showed Harry slamming his fist, which was clutched by the other, into the top of Tim's head.  
  
She flicked the lights on to see Tim battered and bruised up, his lip was busted, one eye was already swollen shut, and his face was covered in blood. And all that, Heather saw from many feet away.  
  
She ran to Harry, trying to pull him off Tim before he killed him. Harry wasn't having it. He didn't strike Heather in any way, but with all her strength Heather couldn't get Harry away. She managed to drag Harry off his seated position on the much frailer blonde, and Harry wasn't hitting, as to not hit Heather.  
  
But Tim wasn't going down. Didn't know a good change to escape when he saw one. He swing at Harry. Connected with his jaw with a punch. It wasn't a strong hit, but a moderate one. Enough to get Harry mad all over again.  
  
He yanked his arm from Heather, and began slamming his hands into Tim, his fists digging past skin to connect to bone, denting the substance to the point where the structure was no longer what it was.  
  
Heather was able to soothe Harry with words to the point where he was able to be restrained, as she pulled him back by his arms. He kicked Tim once more, before standing straight and turning to Heather to check on her.  
  
But once more, Tim knew no better.  
  
"Take your bitch then! Take her and do what you want. She's a fucking prude anyways! More tight-legged than a nun, when we all know she's a slut on the inside. Just like those whores she calls her friends!"  
  
Harry moved to pounce, before he looked to Heather, who put her hands up as if to say, "I don't care, do whatever."  
  
And with that, Harry dove on Tim.  
  
Heather stood there, looking at her watch. The occasional smack of skin on concrete or kick to a painful point brought a cheer from her, but otherwise, she looked on with little care.  
  
After about 5 minutes, Heather went and grabbed Harry. She drug Tim to his car, opening the back door, Harry helping her put him in. Heather slammed Tim's head into the side of the car "on accident" and then closed the door so it hit him on the head. She then took Harry and pushed him in the car before telling him to follow her. She got in Tim's car before starting it and heading back to Little Whinging.  
  
They stopped in front of a large house with its own ornate property and its own amazing garden and drive way. They drove in past the gates and parked. Heather got out and yanked Tim from the car and left him on the ground. She dropped the keys on him, and wiped her mouth. She spit down, the blood mixed with her saliva mixing in with his already soaked and slightly red- from-blood hair before going back and getting in the Mustang, the storm breaking as she got in. Harry slipped the top up before they drove off the property.  
  
"Bastard won't learn." Heather muttered as Harry drove them away. "Idiot hasn't figured that you won't let anything happen to me."  
  
And she smiled to herself as the car drove down the personal driveway and out to the main street, and eventually back to Zoe's house.

* * *

Harry awoke from Heather's bed much later in the day, the beating he had laid on Tim having tired him unexpectedly. He had laid down after a hot shower, smelling somehow of hot water and the crappy lavender shampoo that seemed to be the only shampoo in the entire house.  
  
At least, that was what Heather had said as she laid there snuggled against him. She had thanked him many a time since they had gotten home, kisses rained down like the raindrops falling on the window outside.  
  
It was still raining. Yep. A good 6 hours after it began, it was still pouring down like a dam had cracked somewhere above the clouds. No, not cracked. Exploded.  
  
Harry pulled himself up so he was reclined on his arms before slipping out of the bed. He stretched before trudging down the stairs clad in the basketball sorts he had pulled on after getting out of the shower.  
  
And upon arrival into the living room, he found Zoe, Kirstin, Shannon, DJ and Heather all in the living room, watching TV and talking. More talking than watching though. They were all giving their commentary on whatever they hell they were watching. Heather was seated on one couch so that her body was parallel to the couch. Harry slid over the armrest up behind her and pulled her so she was against him, his body shadowing hers in position, so that it was like they were in the same position. She didn't even stop talking, she just leaned back against him and kept on talking.  
  
Once done, she tilted her head back, her lips searching to be kissed. Harry obliged, and leaned and pressed his lips to hers. "You slept late."  
  
"I had to recover."  
  
"Why. He only hit you twice. And the second one wasn't too bad."  
  
"You didn't see where the first hit was..." And Harry let this sentence drift off to allow the meaning to set in to the girl. Her mouth opened in shock. She sucked in an indignant breath before turning and looking forward again, her mouth still slacked open.  
  
"I am going to kill him." She professed to the room. Everyone asked who, and Heather shook herself before shrugging. She smiled like she knew a secret no one knew.  
  
Harry bent his knee, so in effect, Heather's body was protected by the back of the couch and his leg, from any outside influence. He rested his arm on his leg, his hand dangling. Heather smiled and grabbed his hand as she looked to everyone else. "My baby beat the shit out of Tim." She patted his hand before grabbing it and looking at it.  
  
His fist had some cuts on the knuckles, and they were slightly swollen. She looked at his hands, then gasped. She got herself up and turned to him, sitting between his legs holding his hand, grabbing the other to find it just as bad as the other.  
  
"Doesn't this hurt? Didn't this hurt when you did it? Why didn't you say anything?"  
  
As she had started this reaction, the other girls had leaned to see, and Emily had walked by, looking over the back of the couch. She saw his hands and saw what they looked like. She sighed. "What the hell happened to you?"  
  
Harry chuckled light-heartedly. "You think I'm bad, you should see the other guy."  
  
Zoe was interested in the condition Tim was left in. She had seen the damage Harry could do in one hit, and she really wanted to know what had happened to the frail blonde in an actual fight with the almost-primal raven-haired demon that Harry seemed to become when he was angry.  
  
Heather took the initiative to answer. "Well, we could start with the fact that he was unconscious soon into it, and that I had to drag him into his car and drive it and him home.  
  
"Add in the fact that one of his eyes was swollen shut, his jaw looked broken, and his lip was busted. I think he was actually missing a tooth or two too."  
  
Everyone expressed their shock in different ways. Zoe and Kirstin did a simultaneous "_Daaaaaaaamn_" and DJ's jaw dropped. Emily shook her head, a smile on her face. Shannon smiled and gave Harry the thumbs-up. "Good, I hated that bastard, and maybe he won't show his mug at the Summer Social."  
  
Harry mouthed "Summer Social" in a lack of understanding. Everyone looked at him as if he was completely off his rocker. Heather looked confused. "You don't know what the Summer Social is? I mean, I have been living in the States for the longest, and I know. What, have you been locked in a closet for the last..." And she trailed off realizing the slip up she made. She made a face of apology, and he caressed her hair as she leaned back against him. Zoe took up continuing the explanation of the Summer Social.  
  
"It is the peak of the summer for all teens in the area. After all the parties and everything, everyone goes through hoops to be able to make the party. It is a major dance-thing, put on by some organization, meant to prepare teenagers for black-tie get-togethers that they would have to attend as they got older and older. It basically is the equivalent of one such dance thing, only, all teenagers. Really great, it is."  
  
Harry nodded before looking forward, his eyes roaming around the room some. Then he asked, "And exactly when is this Social?"  
  
"Near the end of summer. It is scheduled for Mid-August."  
  
Harry nodded and then scooted down some in the couch before Heather laid down and he drifted back into a state of semi-consciousness. Nothing mattered but the girl in his arms.  
  
And the fact that there was a pen sticking him in the back from beneath the couch cushion.  
  
Upon adjusting this, Harry went back to laying down, tossing the long pen across the room before laying back down and closing his eyes.  
  
Because of this, he missed the looks that where exchanged all around the room as the long "pen" rolled across the ground after landing. Everyone looked around before sighing as Harry's eyes closed. They all sighed in relief as the long oak cylinder stopped in front of Shannon's feet. She groaned and muttered, "You dumb hoes can't keep your stuff where it is supposed to be. Learn to be more freaking responsible why don't ya. Leaving your stuff under the cushions so no one will find it. Tell you every day it's a stupid idea." And she tossed the object back to its owner before grabbing the remote and turning the television on.

* * *

It didn't take long for Harry to realize that falling asleep around Heather was not a good idea. At least, falling asleep with her on top of him wasn't. It was soon after his eyes had closed and the consciousness he had been gripping slipped away that it returned to him as he felt a warm sensation on his neck.  
  
His eyes cracked open groggily and he looked to find a mass of hair spread all over his chest and neck, explaining why he had this odd feeling that someone had their mouth on his neck.  
  
Heather sat back soon after, smiling to herself. "There, mine." She said much like a self-satisfied child says after they complete something they are very personally proud of.  
  
Harry looked down as much as he could as all of the girls started laughing or making comments, as they all began to stand and wonder about the room, most on their way out. And out of the corner of his eyes he could see a dark bruise-like thing on his neck.  
  
"What the hell have you done to me woman?" He muttered as he tried to see the side of his neck, which was very much impossible. However, she had made "her mark" along the base of his neck and near his shoulders, so that he could just make out the darkened skin if he tilted his head in a certain way.  
  
Harry muttered before grabbing her and kissing her hard on the lips. He was happy that they had some time to spend alone, since everyone around them had since left as she had begun to kiss him, heading their separate ways for the day. So that left Harry and Heather to themselves, or more, each other.  
  
Or so they thought.  
  
They turned as they heard crunching. They looked to find DJ sitting there munching on some chips from a large bag, and watching them as if they were the Sunday morning matinee. Upon seeing them stop, she made a motion to continue.  
  
Heather rolled her eyes. "Don't you have anywhere to go like everyone else?"  
  
"No, not really." Was the girl's reply.  
  
Heather got up off Harry and pulled the girl up. She dragged her by her hand to the door before pushing her out. The girl turned, and Heather slammed the door on her. Heather then turned and opened the door back up and snatched the chips from DJ's hands before slamming the door again.  
  
She wrapped the bag of chips up and set them on the table next to the door. She turned to the now standing Harry and smiled.  
  
Harry didn't like that smile. It was predatory. It scared him.  
  
"Now, where were we." She asked rhetorically before pouncing on him, literally tackling him back onto the couch.

* * *

The time flew by for Harry's summer in between the band practicing in the backyard of Zoe's house, make-out sessions with Heather, and random bits of conversations with Professor Dumbledore through Hedwig, who Harry had found sitting in a tree outside of Zoe's house with a message from the old man the week after he had shown up personally.  
  
The owl ban was lifted, but still nothing from Ron.  
  
Hermione had taken to not contacting him too much. Harry knew why, their conversation had enlightened him to the enigma that was Hermione. But he still would have liked to hear from her every so often.  
  
And with the thoughts of Hermione and owls, Harry's mind turned to OWLs. He wondered where his were, as, according to when he normally got his school letter, he should have received that and his test results a week prior.  
  
And it was some time in mid-July that he woke up to find Heather missing. He stood and stretched before walking down the stairs, scratching the back of his head lazily as he headed toward the kitchen.  
  
He walked in and opened the refrigerator in the dark room and pulled out the carton or orange juice. He started to drink from it as he turned, and his eyes fell on Heather.  
  
She was sitting at the table reading some letter, with a look of slight confusion on her face. She looked up and saw Harry, and her face turned slightly red before she folded the letter up in a rush and tried to hide it from his immediate view. However, there wasn't anywhere to put it. She stood, and displayed the fact that she, indeed, had no pockets on what she was wearing.  
  
She was dressed for running. She had on tight spandex-like biker shorts and a white sports bra, meaning, no where to hide whatever she was reading from Harry. However, the boy forgot all about the letter as he looked at her in the tight material, and, once he shook off his hormones, he was more inclined to wonder why she was dressed for running. He had yet to see her do it before.  
  
"Running?"  
  
She smiled at him. "Yeah. Haven't done it the whole time I have known you. And between not running and the fact that no one in this house can cook, making the primary food menu the phone book, I have seemed to begun to lose my shape."  
  
Harry had returned to drinking some of the orange juice as she began to talk, and almost sprayed the liquid from his mouth as he heard this. After successfully swallowing the drink, he looked at her and scoffed.  
  
"Yeah, If that's losing your figure, feel free to leave it lost." He walked over to her and kissed her on the top of the head. "You could have at least had me go with you. You know I don't want you running around out here alone."  
  
Heather nodded before looking at him. "But why would you want to go running around in the cold early morning. You have nothing to work off."  
  
"And neither do you. But I have my reasons."  
  
"Like what? Trying to look good again for your girlfriend when you go back to school? Because if that's it, and I find out about it, then something is going to happen. If I have to, I will go down there and kick her ass." Heather smiled teasingly.  
  
Harry stuck his tongue out at her in a very childish way. However, as he replayed this in his head, something was screaming in the back of his head. He had told her he went to St. Brutus', and he had maintained that lie. And St. Brutus' was an All-Boys' school, with not a female school for miles. So where did she get the idea of a girlfriend...  
  
Harry shrugged before telling her to wait for him as he ran up the stairs and pulled on some socks and his trainers. He yanked on the black pullover and was glad he always slept in a pair of basketball shorts, as it made the dressing thing easier.  
  
He took the stairs 2 at a time to find the door open. He went out to find Heather stretching on the lawn, making sure her legs were stretched. Harry stopped his exit and stood there watching for a moment before closing the door and walking over to her as she stood and seemed to be done.  
  
"Come on, stretch so we can go."  
  
"I'm good." Harry commented before turning and looking up and down the dimly lit street.  
  
"You are so gonna regret that." Heather advised before shrugging and beginning a light jog down the street. Harry followed and made pace with her, jogging alongside her.

* * *

"This is easy."  
  
"Shut up."  
  
"It is."  
  
"No, seriously Harry. Shut up. Before I have to make you eat those words."  
  
"Ha, like you could."

* * *

"I hate running!" Harry professed as he laid on his back, staring up at the early dawn sky. His legs were screaming at him, and his stomach was digesting the words he had said to the woman doing some kind of wacky Irish- Step dance above his head. "What are you doing woman?"  
  
"Dancing on your grave."  
  
"Grave?"  
  
"Yep. You're gonna die."  
  
Harry groaned before he rolled over into a face down position and brought his arms up into a push-up position. He was gonna use that position to get up, but as he started pushing, he found he couldn't get up.  
  
"I thought running was only supposed to work your legs."  
  
"Not exactly. But mainly that's the idea."  
  
"Then why aren't my arms working?" Harry groaned as he realized why he couldn't get up. "Get off me!"  
  
"No."  
  
"Yes damnit!"  
  
"Admit you were wrong, I was right, and I am the queen."  
  
"The queen of what?"  
  
"Of whatever the hell I want to be the queen of!" Harry grumbled and said it, wanting to get up, go back and pass out on the bed after a showed. "Good boy." Harry growled at this and his anger let him to one push to so that he was half up. Heather yelped as she stumbled back and toppled to the grass as he stood up. She hopped up like she had all the energy in the world and ran at him and tackled him to the ground. Harry was too tired to fight her as she pushed him to the ground and then straddled his stomach and had her hands on his shoulders, keeping him pinned to the ground.  
  
"Let me up."  
  
"First...admit how much you are in love with me and that I am your world and you wouldn't want to live without me, and all that good romantic crap." Harry looked at her in a completely lackluster way. He wasn't really amused. He was too tired to see her jokes as funny. He saw them as roadblocks between him and the bed. So she did a little hop so she brought her body back down on his stomach. "Do it!"  
  
Harry realized that, from far away, it looked like a completely different situation than it was. It looked very sexual even from where he was, but from a far view it probably looked like a naughty tryst in the middle of a park at dawn. So, Harry, recognizing this situation, groaned in defeat. "Yeah, that stuff you said." And he rolled his eyes, trying to get up.  
  
Heather growled and then started pouting. She stuck her bottom lip out mockingly and very child-like. She screamed in fake tears. Harry groaned. "Ok. Look Heather, you want some kind of sincere statement of love?" Heather nodded her head vigorously as she hid her face behind her hands, supposedly crying. Really she was smiled in self-satisfaction. "Let me up and I do it. I swear."  
  
Heather smiled and got up, thinking she had won. The second she got up and helped Harry stand, he took of running. He wasn't fast, as he was tired, but it was a respectable pace. He was fueled by fear if she caught him and the energy he regained from laying there.  
  
He made it into the house and up the stairs. He hopped in the bathroom, slammed the door and locked it, laughing. Heather was outside whining. "You liar! You promised you'd say it."  
  
"I will. Never said when though." And with that he turned the shower on and got ready to get in and just stand under the hot water.  
  
Heather rolled her eyes and turned, smiling to herself. She was having way too much fun. However, he smile was broken as she saw Zoe standing there looking at her. "What?"  
  
"I saw you two."  
  
"What?"  
  
"Yeah. You really must stop messing around like that."  
  
"Why?"  
  
"You are gonna slip up one of these times."  
  
"No I won't."  
  
"And even if you don't, so what. Eventually you are gonna have to explain it to him. What, you think you are gonna be able to just disappear for the next year? He needs to know, and the closer you get to him, the more you are going to hurt him when he finds out you have been keeping this from him."  
  
Heather nodded, sobering up. "Well, he's been keeping things from me too."  
  
"That's no damn excuse girl. Not one at all. He has reasons. You...you don't. I mean, I have known you forever and a day it seems like. And I know everything about you. Telling him this might just make it all a lot better. A lot easier."  
  
Heather nodded and turned from her friend and headed into her room. She flopped down on the bed and pulled the letter out of the bottom of her trainer, where she had folded it up and hidden it. She looked it over before folding up back up. She walked over to a dresser and pulled out a book. She opened it to the first page and began writing in the top corner, writing diagonally along the corner.  
  
_To Harry _

_This is something I have had for some time. It's the equivalent of a Diary for most girls. But me, I'm a little different. I seem to start one of these concerning every person that I know will make a big impact on my life. This...this is every feeling and thought I have written down about you since the day I met you. I figured I would give this to you. So you can know. Know everything I feel.  
  
Love Always, Heather_  
  
And she opened to a new page and spread the letter out on the page. She looked over the words that were included and her heart contracted at the coloring of the ink, as it reminded her so much of Harry's eye the first day she had seen him. And how so much had changed about him, so much about her life, since that day.  
  
Heather sighed loudly before closing the book and walking over to her bed, laying out and sighing loudly as she tried to figure out what to do.  
  
In her 17 years, she still couldn't come to a solid decision about the one thing that was the most important to her future. She sighed once more before closing her eyes and trying to drift into a mindless meditative state. She still couldn't sleep without him near. But she tried.  
  
And it never worked.  
  
He wouldn't admit it to her, and she probably wouldn't to him, but she needed him. She needed him there, and as much as she hated it,  
  
That scared her

* * *

Harry climbed out of the shower to the sound of tapping on the bathroom window. He opened the window to allow a snowy white owl he recognized all too well flutter in and settle down on the sill. Hedwig stuck her talon out showing an envelope attached to her leg. Harry took it and ruffled the feathers on her head before he opened the letter.  
  
The usual chatter always included in Hogwarts letters was present, and attached to that parchment was another set. He took a look at them to find they were his Test Results. There was a parchment for each exam containing comments from the teachers, and the page after all of this, there were the results of the exams.  
  
_Ordinary Wizarding Levels Results for Potter, Harry J.  
  
Course: Charms   
Teacher: Filius Flitwick   
Theory: Exceeds Expectation   
Practical: Outstanding  
  
Course: Transfiguration   
Teacher: Minerva McGonagall   
Theory: Exceeds Expectation   
Practical: Exceeds Expectation  
  
Course: Potions   
Teacher: Severus Snape   
Theory: Average   
Practical: Exceeds Expectation  
  
Course: Divination   
Teacher: Sybil Trelawney/ Scorpius Firenze   
Theory: Outstanding   
Practical: Outstanding  
  
Course: History of Magic   
Teacher: Reginald Binns   
Theory: Dreadful   
Practical: N/A  
  
Course: Astronomy   
Teacher: Jannius Vector  
Theory: Average   
Practical: Average  
  
Course: Defense Against the Dark Arts   
Teacher: Dolores Umbridge   
Theory: Exceeds Expectation   
Practical: Spectacular  
_  
Harry looked at the results with eyes much akin to plates. He stared before turning toward the page of comments from his testing. He turned to the DADA page, wondering what the score of Spectacular meant.  
  
Upon finding the page, he looked down to the note written by his observer.  
  
_Mr. Potter, The score of Spectacular has, as of yet, only been accomplished by one other person in history, and never in this particular subject.  
  
A fact few know is, the observers do not give the scores to the students, a certain compound conundrum of magic somehow rates the ability that person has in the subject. It is a practice that, in truth, makes studying pointless, as it rates the mind's ability, not just the things someone remembers. This is only done in the main 4 compounds of magic in Hogwarts: Transfiguration, DADA, Charms and Potions, so some studying is needed, but I digress.  
  
This score you have achieved marks a new beginning in Hogwarts, and in the field of Defense against the Dark Arts. I for one look forward to what you accomplish from this moment on.  
_  
Harry gaped at the paper like a fish out of water. The day was getting so weird that it was making him wonder when he went to sleep and what the meaning of the particular dream he was having was.  
  
However, as he looked through the comment sheets, something didn't add up. He looked to the last page, still not finding out what his final O.W.L. results were. And when he turned, he found what he was looking for.  
  
_Potter, Harry J. Final Results of the Ordinary Wizarding Levels Exam:  
  
Total Theory OWLs: 5 Total Practical OWLs: 8 Total OWLs: 13  
  
Mr. Potter, Due to circumstances that I felt were unfair to you that occurred last year, I felt the need to do some exploration on things in the guidelines of Hogwarts. And I found something very interesting.  
  
There is no rule anywhere that states that positions in the school are held only by a certain year. There is simply the statement that the jobs in the school are to be held by people who exemplify the values of the jobs.  
  
This may mean nothing to you at the moment, and you are probably looking at this paper with a sentiment of "get on with it old man"  
  
_Harry in fact, was doing just that. And this sentence freaked him out a great deal.  
  
_So, I shall get on with it. Basically I am stating that, this coming year, with the impending war and the need for someone for the Wizarding world to look to, I have made an Executive Decision. And, this coming year I have bestowed yet another responsibility upon you. For I feel, it was wrong of me to decide what you could and could not handle._

_Albus Dumbledore  
_  
The letter ended here. Harry stared at it in confusion, as there was no explanation. However, he felt a weight in his hand where the envelope had been. He looked down to find something enclosed in the envelope.  
  
It was a badge. A badge he had seen before, and many a time during his stay at Hogwarts. And Harry stood there sputtering as he held it in his hand. For he, Harry Potter, was just made  
  
_Head Boy_

__

* * *

Harry had gone to sleep with a lot on his mind. He had his brow furrowed, and he was too tired and too shell-shocked to completely dry and tie his hair, so the fairly damp tendrils of dark hair fell around his face and covered his eyes from view. He walked back to the room before heading over to the bed. Heather was under the covers when he got there. He slipped in to find her hidden completely under them. He smiled, thinking she had finally been able to go to sleep without him there. It hadn't taken him long to realize that that was her problem. The bloodshot eyes were a dead giveaway.  
  
However, he felt her shift and her arms wrap around him from beneath the thick blanketing. Harry slipped under the covers and looked at her. She had tears streaking down her cheeks, and her eyes were puffy and red. She pulled toward him, and he simply wrapped her in his arms, knowing she didn't want to talk.  
  
However, as he pulled her to him, she pushed him back. She began kissing very deeply him with a fierce urgency. She ended up on top of him. She leaned back and grabbed the bottom of his shirt pulling it up and over her head. She flung it to the floor, starting to kiss Harry again as she was clad only in the pair of his shorts she had on and her bra.  
  
Harry however, stopped his enthusiasm in the action as he realized what was happening. There was a frenzied rush to what she was doing, and he knew that something was not right with her and her emotions were ruling what she was doing.  
  
So, gently, he rolled over so they were both on their sides. He ran his hand down to the small of her back and let it rest there, in effect keeping her close, but allowing him to maintain the control and the space between them. He wanted to be with her as much as humanly possible, but he wasn't going to let her first time be somehow tainted by whatever was on her mind.  
  
Heather looked at Harry for some time before she burst out crying. He pulled her towards him and allowed her to just get it all out. He wrapped her in his arms and she cried her pain out and then rested in a deep, contented sleep. Seeing this, Harry allowed himself to rest, the torment in his own mind pressed out by more pressing matters to him. Namely, Heather, and whatever it was that was tearing her up that much inside.

* * *

Harry opened his eyes soon after as he just allowed his mind to run facts through again and again. He ran through all of the information he got on Nox Eternal, and all the deductions he had made on the golden light. Then he focused on his conversation with Hermione.  
  
It had been very enlightening actually. He had found the true basis of the rivalry between the two girls. It was all due to arrogance. It had started as competition, and soon evolved into a full-fledged problem when Hermione got her Hogwarts letter. Heather had come from a secretive family, and she was very silent about herself, but weird things always seemed to happen around her. It had all of the appearances of accidental magic. And they all thought it was Heather, but when the girl didn't get a letter, and Hermione did, it was a shock to them all. And for years Hermione rubbed it in to Heather, coming back telling stories about friends she had and the adventures she had been on.  
  
Heather for her part seemed to become more secretive, moving to America with her grandmother, and every year she came back for the summer, the odd spurts of "Accidental Magic" seemed to disappear around her, instead certain actions occurred that seemed intentional.  
  
Hermione had told Harry that she had thought this odd, and had used a spell she had found in a Dark Magic book, a spell much akin o the one Hogwarts used to find magical people. And she tested to see if Heather was in fact, a witch like herself, which was how Hermione had lost her one warning. However, the test came back with results that were neither negative nor positive. So Hermione had been left saying nothing and leaving it all alone.  
  
This fact was poking Harry in the back of the head as hi eyes closed with Heather snuggling closer to him.  
  
However, he was awake. And that brought back his problems. He was completely in shock by the decision Dumbledore had made. But he had nothing else he could say about that particular decision, but thank the old man.  
  
It had made Harry feel oddly left out as his best friends had gone off on their duties and he was left to his own devices. This seemed to allow him to dwell on the things that had happened to him.  
  
And that was when Harry realized it. The people around him; Zoe, Kirstin, J- Roc, most recently Shannon, DJ and Emily, and mostly Heather, they had all helped him through Sirius. They had helped him to be a normal teenager for once.  
  
And as he closed his eyes and pulled Heather to him, he knew one thing.  
  
He owed them so much for that.

* * *

Harry and Heather avoided having any conversation about whatever had transpired that night, an unspoken agreement between them. And each morning Harry was awoken by Heather, who woke up too early to be natural in Harry's mind. And they ran around the block as many times as it took for Heather to feel they were done. Which was about 2 laps longer than Harry through he could do before he keeled over and died.  
  
But soon enough, he was seeing the slight changes. Namely, he could go longer around before he would collapse. But something else he noticed was, after he collapsed on the ground, within a week, Heather was collapsed right next to him. And for the week after that, she collapsed before him. It was usually only by a few seconds, but he took pride in his ability to stay standing longer than her before his legs gave out.  
  
But one morning about 2 weeks after they started the running, they didn't wake him up. And after an exhausting band practice the afternoon before that was twice as long for an unexplained reason, Harry was tired and didn't wake himself up until about 9 o'clock. So he dressed in some felt sweatpants and his trainers and trudged down the stairs. As e made it down, he heard slight sounds from the living room, and one voice he recognized was Heather's. So, heading in there to ask her about the missed wake-up, Harry was confronted by something he didn't expect.  
  
A birthday party.  
  
And as he stood there naked from waist up in a room full of people, many he didn't know too well, he felt slightly subconscious. But he looked around and still heard Heather talking, but didn't see her. And as his eyes fell on the couch furthest from his view, his jaw dropped.  
  
There was Heather,  
  
And she was in the middle of a heated discussion,  
  
With Hermione

* * *

_**A/N: New chapter. Its up soon because I got a laptop! So in the last weeks of school, I do no work. I sit in math class writing this. Great person ain't I? Lol. Anyways, I have this chapter written, the longest page-wise of the series so far, as it is a lot of dialogue.  
  
Also, do not assume you know what Heather is, that would be a very big mistake. I will tell you all this, Heather will not be a student new transfer student or something crappy like that. No chance. So you will not have Heather show up in Harry's house, in all of his classes, crap like that.  
  
And the story is getting deeper into the true stuff soon, and the summer will be wrapped up very soon, as in, the next 2 chapters. And fro there, the story's category will change, and the opposition to Nox Eternal will come. And keep in mind the changes that Harry is undergoing the more he is in contact with the Dark Dreams, and recognize how long its been since he had one, as the Golden Light in the dreams is something different altogether, and when he gets to the school he will find out about the differences between the two things.  
  
Also, the trend of the R-rated chapters may go up to the point that the story goes up to an R-rating. This is due to the importance of sex and violence coming up in the story. Maybe I'll throw in some alcohol and just make it a nice little party! Lemme know about the rating, as, once its R, I can work with more happening between the couples and more details about wording and more language and violence happening as the story progresses. Ok people, thanks.  
  
Peacers, TK **_


	13. Chapter 13: The Calm Before

**_FF.Net gave me a Temp Ban. This chapter, as well as chapter 14 have been done for the past few days. and they could have been up. Blame them for the wait._**

A/N: This chapter is my ode to those movies and TV shows where a character or a plot device shows up randomly at exactly the correct time to make everything fall in perfectly.  
  
Last Time on SoH...  
  
-  
  
You know what, screw it. If you don't know, then u didn't read, and if u did, go back and check for yourselves. I love you all, but this pasting job gets boring, reminding you what happened. It was a cliffy, you should all know.  
  
-----  
  
Harry stood there gaping. It wasn't awkward enough that he had all those people there _for him,  
_  
He had two worse enemies sitting there, in the middle of all of those people, both who he was emotionally attached to,  
  
Talking.  
  
Harry walked over to them, but in the process he was grabbed by Zoe and Kirstin. And right back up the stairs he was dragged, and right into Zoe's room. They both pushed him back on the bed and onto his back. They looked at him and began to talk.  
  
"Its coming time, and we both can kind of see it. Now Heather told us about what happened last night with the whole near-sex thing. And we say this as your friends and Heather's friends as well. We are thanking you for doing the right thing." Kirstin dictated as Zoe sat there, looking at Harry up and down. There was something almost predatorily in her eyes. However, she seemed to shake it away to speak.  
  
"Harry, there is a lot Heather isn't telling you about herself. A lot of things she hides because there are a lot of things about her that scares her. And she feels safe with her. And all we can ask you is to give her time. She is trying, really trying to figure things out so she can make sense of it, but..." here Zoe trailed off and just kind of looked down, as if searching for the words.  
  
Harry however, knew what they were saying to him. And he knew his answer. As soon as Zoe opened her mouth to talk again, Harry cut her off. "Look Harry,"  
  
"No, you look." Here both Zoe and Kirstin sat back, looking shocked at the force behind his words. "I will wait all I have to. I understand that she has secrets. I have mine too. It wouldn't be right to not have anything to ourselves. And I will wait for her as long as I can." The girls looked like they wanted to say something here, but Harry kept on speaking. "As long as I am here, I will wait." And with those final words, he moved to stand up. However, as he did, he was tackled back by both girls, who moved with what seemed like trained practice in pouncing as a unit. They thanked him before both laid a kiss on his cheek, one on each side, before both ruffled his hair and pulled him up.  
  
As he headed out of the room, he felt a slap, and turned to the girls behind him, both looking perfectly innocent. "Which one of you slapped my arse?" he asked as innocently as they looked. Both did their best angel impression, and Harry rolled his eyes before leaving the room ahead of the girls and making his way to his room. After dressing completely, he headed down the stairs.  
  
As he finally came down the steps again, he looked as the room looked emptied. He looked around and then as he made it to the middle of the room, everyone leapt out of their different places of hiding and shouted "Surprise!!"  
  
And was Harry ever. Many people he had met that summer were there, and his whole "family", as he called them, were present. Harry smiled and took a seat on the couch after waving to them all. And as he sat there, he looked around as people turned on music, and other people began raiding the house for food.  
  
"Well Mr. Potter, seems you are finally 16. How do you feel about that?" Harry smiled as he heard the voice, not even needing to turn to know who it was.  
  
"Ms. Granger, you are in a room with someone who has been your professed enemy for years now. How does it feel?"  
  
"Really, Malfoy's here?" she overacted in looking around to find the apparent presence of the blonde. Harry rolled his eyes, sitting back and looking around the room. And as he glanced around the room, a thought came to his mind.  
  
"Did you ever try and owl me this summer?"  
  
"Yes I did. Ron owled me and I tried to send Pig to you. After hearing about the Owl Ban they had you on, I didn't feel so bad about the lack of response. I also tried to send a letter to you, but the time it was supposed to get there was the day of the...fire."  
  
Harry nodded before simply turning and looking at the girl. Her hair was regaining its bushiness, but there were curls clearly showing in the frizz that looked as if they were developing into a mass to overtake the "just- got-electrocuted" look. Her eyes were big and had the look of someone who wanted to take in everything they possibly could about the world around them. And suddenly something stood out in Harry's mind.  
  
"So Hermione, how do you intend to celebrate your 16th birthday?" Harry asked.  
  
"Well, if memory serves, I spent it in the library looking up some information on the Potions assignment we had that was due the next Wednesday." Harry looked at her in confusion before she settled it in clear terms. "Harry, I'm older than you and Ron."  
  
Harry nodded as he realized that it all made sense in his mind. Hermione's intent to do well in school was mainly due to her being older than everyone else in her year. "So you are the oldest 6th year then?"  
  
"No. Actually Lisa Turpin's birthday is the second of September, and she and I have had that connection, but she uses that information to her advantage. Mainly explaining why she ends up dating people a year or two higher than her."  
  
Harry nodded slowly before catching movement coming toward him. It was bright red hair and a lanky tall form. He turned and looked in shock as, before him, stood Ron Weasley, flanked by his little sister Ginny.  
  
Ginny was blushing ever so slightly, and Ron was standing there looking very out of place. Tonks smiled to Harry and he realized she was responsible for the two red-heads' appearance at the party. So, Harry turned to Ron and stood to greet his best friend.  
  
And in shock, Harry realized he was taller than Ron. Not by much, but he was taller than the lanky redhead. Harry smiled and said hello to Ron. They clasped hands and Ron smiled, albeit somewhat forced. Harry missed that as he greeted Ginny.  
  
He made to simply say hello, but the girl rushed him and wrapped her arms around him. She wished him a happy birthday and began rushed talking. "I really wanted to send you something Harry, I really did, but you see, first there was the Ban, and then there was something wrong with Pig, and then" Harry shushed her and then gave her his seat on the couch, and Ginny and Hermione began to talk.  
  
As Harry stood there, he tried to engage Ron in conversation. However, as he began to talk, Heather bounced over and positioned herself next to Harry, reaching up and ruffling his hair, which seemed to be a running trend of the day. Ron raised an eyebrow and glanced to Ginny out of the corner of his eyes. The redheaded girl stopped speaking and looked at the exchange.  
  
"Aren't you going to introduce me Harry?" Ron asked, putting on a smirk.  
  
"Oh, Ron, this is Heather, Heather, Ron."  
  
"Hello Heather. Ron Weasley. Harry's best friend." He pulled one hand out of his pocket and offered it to the girl. She put hers out and he took it, moving it to a position so he could lower his head to place a kiss on her knuckles.  
  
"Hello Ron. I'm Heather." And Ron placed the kiss before bringing his head up to see the girl looking at him oddly.  
  
"Some best friend. Been here for moments and already making a move on your friend's girl." Came a voice. They all turned to see J-Roc standing there with two glasses in his hand. He handed one to Harry, and the boy took it, looking at it in question. "Its Just soda." Harry thanked the boy for it and drank it straight down. J-Roc turned to Ron. "Ron right?" The redhead nodded in confirmation. "Name's J-Roc."  
  
"What kind of name is J-Roc?"  
  
"A better one than 'Ronald', that's for damn sure." Zoe said as she walked over, taking a seat on the couch between Hermione and Ginny with no regard for how either girl felt about that. J-Roc wandered off as Zoe came, taking Harry's empty glass from him.  
  
"And you are?" Ginny asked, not angrily, but more in inquisition.  
  
"Me? I'm Zoe." Ginny looked at the girl for a moment before opening her mouth to say something before clamping it shut again.  
  
"I'm Ginny." She said simply before asking who Zoe was and how she knew Harry.  
  
"I am a proud card-holding member of Harry here's own personal Harem." She said with a big smile. And everyone who heard this outside of Heather looked completely lost and in shock. Ron was by far the worst. Especially when Kirstin came over and settled herself on the other side of Harry, grabbing the cup from him and replacing it with another of the same drink J- Roc had given him. Harry drank that as well, and Kirstin spoke as he did.  
  
"Yep, me too. I think we are going on 5 members strong. And once we get Heather here to loan him out to us for, say, a weekend, I shall proceed to handcuff him to the bed, and none of us will be seen for a long, long time."  
  
Harry almost choked on his drink. Actually, he nearly did, and it also nearly came spraying out of his mouth as he lost control in shock, and then almost started laughing at the look on Ron's face. The boy had paled out considerably and his hair looked even redder because of the lack of blood in the boy's skin. Ron was looking between Kirstin, Zoe and Heather and then looking at Harry, who was trying to compose himself and trying not to choke as Heather patted him on the back.  
  
He thanked her once he could breath again, and intended to deny the claims, but the conversation had since shifted to many different things, as Kirstin had gone off dancing, shaking her hips as she walked away, and action that did not go unnoticed by Ron. Zoe was assisted by Heather in moving the Love Seat over near the couch Ginny and Hermione were sitting in, before both stood and pushed Harry back into the chair, and then they both took a seat on the arms.  
  
Ron pulled his collar back ,muttering a silent question of whether the heat in the room was going up, before looking to Harry. He watched as Heather leaned down to whisper to him before she got up and pulled Zoe with her. Ron walked over and sat between Hermione and Ginny and looked to Harry.  
  
"Harry mate, do you mind if I borrow some of your...what did they call themselves, your Harem? I mean, friends share and all..." Hermione and Ginny both slapped him upside the head.  
  
"No Ron. They are Harry's. Get your own." Ginny said.  
  
"Besides, I don't think the name would sound as good. Harry's Harem is a catchy name. I like it." Hermione muttered, smiling as she hummed some tune under her breath. Soon enough, Ron turned to Hermione in shock.  
  
"Did you just make up a song for Harry's Harem?"  
  
"Not a song Ron." The boy sighed in relief. "More...a jingle."  
  
Harry smiled at the interaction before Heather came back with another cup of the drink and took a seat across his lap. She drank some and offered some to Harry. The boy drank some more of it before leaving it to her. He looked to her after a moment and asked her a question. "If that is only soda, why do I feel oddly tipsy?"  
  
Heather looked at him in sympathy and stroked his cheek. "Its not only soda, its Just Soda. Its something J-Roc came up with. Devious bastard when it comes to all things alcohol truthfully. It has high alcoholic content packed in something that looks and tastes in no way different from a cola of some sort. It can only be recognized in the aftertaste. Gives a nice buzz. I have a suspicion this is why he could get away being drunk half through summer courses last summer without getting caught."  
  
Harry looked at the cup in wonderment. "Besides, you can't have a good birthday completely sober." Heather finished before dropping her head into the crook of his neck. Harry felt her kiss him there before moving her face up and kissing him deeply.  
  
Once the kiss was broken, Harry looked up to find Ron sitting there, staring at him. "I think I spent the summer in the wrong place..." the redhead commented before groaning and going off to look for some of "that drink..."  
  
Ginny had gotten up, muttering something about looking for an application. Hermione asked her for what, and Ginny said, "What else. I want to start up a branch of the HH at school." And the girl disappeared, leaving Hermione rolling her eyes and looking to the kissing couple in the chair.  
  
Harry looked to his best female friends and spoke to her as Heather put her head on his shoulder and just sat, listening to the slow music playing. "And what were my two favorite girls talking about?"  
  
At this moment, Zoe and Kirstin had walked up and Kirstin spoke. "Oh nothing much. We were just trying to figure out how to get Heather off of you, and get you up the stairs so we could, in fact, chain you to Zoe's bed."  
  
Harry looked at Kirstin in shock. Zoe was usually the forward on, but Kirstin had completely lost her control it seemed. Kirstin winked and ran her hand through Harry's hair before wandering off again, seeing Harry sitting clueless was not what she wanted at that moment. Zoe followed, smiling genuinely.  
  
"What is up with Kirstin?"  
  
"You caught her at the wrong time. You see, Kirstin is odd. She and Zoe are like...opposites. Its actually funny. Instead of either of them PMS-ing, they switch personalities. Kirstin is damn near in heat around this time, and Zoe is fairly timid and quiet. Kirstin being like this is actually one of the reasons I am sitting here. Without me here, she very well would have dragged you up those stairs and into the room." Harry was wowed by this comment.  
  
"And what happens to you, anything interesting? You get an urge to drag me up those stairs and chain me up? Because if that is the case, I am sure we can work it out so I just meet you up there. I'll be glad to be dragged at any time, though. And if that is what happens, you might as well call Kirstin and Zoe and we can just have a lot of fun."  
  
Heather rolled her eyes. "No, I just get fairly bitchy and lose control over myself sometimes. Usually during that time, I either just stay away from people that piss me off, or I go down and beat the hell out of that punching bag Zoe keeps in one of the rooms she calls her Training Room."  
  
"Anyways, back to my question, what were my two favorite girls talking about?"  
  
The two girls looked to each other before looking at Harry. "Well, I was asking her for some help on a certain subject I am trying to learn more about, and she was telling me a bit more about you and the things that she had been through with you." Harry swallowed loudly at this before Heather spoke again. "And I wanted to know what your favorite color was and things like that." Harry sighed softly in relief. "Oh, and she told me about some girl named Cho." Harry's eyes shot open as he had closed them in relief. He looked at Hermione and the girl smile devilishly before looking as innocent as she could and standing up to go look around.  
  
"So, this Cho..." Heather started. Harry groaned and laid his head back.  
  
"Don't go there."  
  
Heather laughed before standing the boy up and pulling him to her, kissing him soundly. He kissed just as hard back, and she smiled at him once done before heading off toward the kitchen.  
  
Harry glanced around at the dancing and the partying going on around him.  
  
He really did owe them.  
  
-----  
  
Sitting down in the chair once Heather was gone, he looked to the newly returned Hermione, who was holding a glass of the soda in her hand as well. The girl smiled gently to him before glancing around the room. Harry rolled his eyes at this before speaking.  
  
"Hermione, I need to know if you have a problem with me being with Heather." Hermione was silent for some time. "I need to know if you will have an issue with us being together."  
  
Hermione was silent. "And if I did, would you break up with her?"  
  
Harry was silent for some time before answered with finality. "No."  
  
Hermione smiled at him. "Then no, I don't. If you are willing to stay with her, then she is obviously special to you. Good luck."  
  
"And thank you for trying Hermione. Thanks for trying to do that for me."  
  
Hermione stood and was heading toward somewhere in the house. "Its nice and all Harry, but its not all for you. I love you as much as I can, but this has nothing to do with you. Nothing at all." And she broke into a huge smile. "What are you sitting there for? Its your birthday. Go, be happy! Drink, Dance, Laugh, Fornicate! I don't care, have some fun! You are only 16 once."  
  
Harry smiled. "Actually Hermione, I am 16 for a whole year."  
  
"Shut up. I think the Smart-Ass disease is rubbing off on you being around these girls and J-Roc too much." And with that she walked off.  
  
Harry smiled at his friend. And as he watched her go, Ron passed her. He looked at Hermione and they had a conversation Harry couldn't make out over the music that had chosen that time to flare up. But whatever it was made Ron not approve too much, as soon after he came toward Harry in a huff and plopped down in the couch with a glass of the soda.  
  
"What was that all about?"  
  
"I asked her to dance. She said no, something about going to look for Ginny. If I didn't know that Hermione was straight, and Ginny was pining after you, I would wonder about those two. They spend inordinate amounts of time communicating with each other. But oh well, what can be done."  
  
"You sound like me. Well, those two sound like Kirstin and Zoe. Always together. Only, I don't have the complete reassurance of those two and their strict policy of "Males Only", and I doubt that would be true anyways."  
  
Ron seemed to like this imagery, and something about the way he was shifting himself in the couch made Harry have to look away for a moment. And then Ron asked him a question Harry was ready for, but dreading. "And how did this all come to be. The whole Harem thing...I mean, I doubt too many people here are magical, so they must have come after you for another reason than your name."  
  
The wording of this offended Harry, but he put it past him to explain the events of the summer. And at one point Ron stopped him. "So you went from the two freak girls to the one virgin? Uh...I don't understand you mate. 'The Arithmacy doesn't balance' as Mum always says."  
  
Harry eyed Ron as he wondered exactly how his friend had come down with such a bad case of Foot-In-Mouth Disease so quickly. It was progressing quickly, and the symptoms would soon lead him to a horrible fate of receiving Harry's boot up his arse if he continued without treatment.  
  
However, Harry answered the question. "Because sex isn't everything. For truth's sake, I am still a virgin myself. I have had a connection with Heather since the moment I met her. Zoe and Kirstin are still good friends that take it on themselves to break me of my 'virginal' ways as often as possible, but its all respect and love here. Besides, my decisions with relationships are my own."  
  
Ron looked at Harry in a weird way before he smirked in self-satisfaction. "Yours truly took it on himself to relieve one of our own housemates of their virginity this summer." He had a big grin on his face.  
  
Harry had a flash, a very unpleasant one, in his mind's eye of Hermione coming to Ron's room in the middle of the night in her nightgown and a coy grin on her face. He shivered and asked, very cautiously, who the person was.  
  
"Lavender." Was Ron's self-appreciating answer as he sat back smugly, adjusting his belt as he felt manly before Harry. Harry tried not to start laughing, but he let some slip as the idea came through his head. Lavender coming to Ron saying_"I saw in the cards that our union was meant to be. That, and the cannons shall lose once more, by 250 points."_  
  
Harry's slight slip-up was not unnoticed by Ron. The boy got indignant and said fairly loudly, "Hey, at least I got some action this summer instead of sitting here on my arse while all this tail prances around in front of me for the taking, while I brooding about stuff I couldn't change."  
  
And as the god's of irony would have it, that would have been the moment Shannon killed the music as her set ended. And a number of people in the vicinity heard this. One of them being Hermione, and another being Heather.  
  
Ron turned a red coloring before sinking into the couch and beginning to nurse the drink he held, trying to pretend half the party wasn't staring at him. Harry however was looking between being very mad, embarrassed for some reason, and confused. He looked to Heather, whose stubbornness stopped her from being on the verge of tears, but he could feel it. And Hermione looked livid. Her eyes were dancing with anger and fire, and she looked about ready to tear Ron's apparent prized possessions from their place at the joining of the legs of his pants, and kick them up and down the street.  
  
However, Harry shook his head slightly as she looked at him before he looked at Ron. He knew a lot had happened to his friend since the Department of Mysteries, and he could tell a lot of it was tearing him up inside. But he wasn't about to let anyone, friend or not, insult people he cared about. That went the same way if anyone said anything truly hurtful to or about Ron, but he wasn't standing by and letting it all work around him.  
  
"Hold on Ron. You don't come into someone's house talking to or about them like that. It is not appreciated or remotely alright. So don't do it again." And with those final words he stood, motioning for Shannon to start the music, and he headed outside the back door to go sit by the pool.  
  
-----  
  
"You know, you handled that situation all too well. Almost seems like you have experience being the mediator between him and other people."  
  
"Yeah, I am the only one who speaks both English and Asshole. So I am stuck being translator."  
  
Heather sat next to Harry, and slipped her arm so it drug across his back lazily. She was silent as long as he was, and soon she looked at him. She leaned down and kissed him on his cheek. "Stop being so down. Smile." Harry made a mock smile to appease her, but it didn't work. "Fine. What do you want to make you happy. Tell me and I'll do it."  
  
He looked at her in slight astonishment before he looked into her eyes. He ran several devious ideas through his mind, and it seemed she could read them in his eyes, but he eventually simply stated, "You being you is all I ask for." And with that and a chaste kiss to her lips, he stood and pulled her up. But as he did, he made to push her in the pool. He grabbed her around the waist at the last moment to stop her from falling in the pool. She sighed as he held her. "Couldn't have you falling into a pool with all these people around wearing that white shirt, now could I?" He smirked devilishly.  
  
"No, that's for later." She whispered into his ear before laying a hard kiss on his lips and then detaching from him and heading back into the house, content that Harry was calm.  
  
"Life is great..."  
  
And Harry would never know that, as if the gods decided those words were the straw on the camel's back, all things concerning him were set into a spin that would knock his very existence and all things he loved and held dear completely and totally less...  
  
Great.  
  
Actually, it would suck.  
  
Royally.  
  
-----  
  
The day was great for Harry. He had a non-stop smile on his face, and everyone he had met over the summer and many people he didn't know came and greeted him.  
  
At one point, however, he disappeared from the party altogether for a good 90 minutes, and two other people happened to disappear as well. Heather went searching for her lost friends and Harry, but couldn't find them until Harry trudged down the stairs, his hair in disarray and his clothing a bit ruffled, and about 10 minutes later the 2 missing girls made their way down the stairs, looking oddly serene, even Kirstin looked more like her calm self than normal, and Zoe adopting a look Hermione had only seen rivaled in calm by Luna Lovegood.  
  
Harry plopped in the chair and didn't say anything about where he was, and no one asked.  
  
The party winded down not long after that, and soon it was left with just Harry, Heather, Kirstin, Zoe, Tonks, J-Roc and oddly Hermione, Ron and Ginny.  
  
Harry was laying on the ground just sprawled across the floor. Heather was reading a magazine of some kind, while Zoe, Kirstin and Tonks were all sitting or laying on the couches, watching a movie. J-Roc was writing something down, apparently a song of some kind. Hermione sat with her arms crossed, ignoring Ron, and Ginny was doing the same. Ron for the most part looked like he didn't want to be there anymore.  
  
And he didn't have to worry about that for too long. Tonks took a glance at her watch before standing and calling the 3 wizarding teens she had brought with her. They made their way out, all saying their various goodbyes. Harry had drifted off, and Hermione left her goodbye with Heather, to two girls walking outside to talk for a moment before the 3 witches and 1 wizard walked from the house.  
  
Heather thought it funny and jumped up on the couch before jumping up and off the couch and down to land her feet right next to the napping Harry's head. The boy's eyes flew open, and with a swing of his arm, he tripped Heather, and the girl fell down toward the ground. Somehow he timed it, and he ended up rolling on top of her.  
  
"Harry, Harry, its me!"  
  
Harry looked down at her and smiled. "I know." And with that he kissed her before standing and lifting her up effortlessly and carrying her up the stairs. Harry ignored the catcalls as he lifted her and carried her "just- married" style up the stairs and into their room.  
  
"And keep it down you two!"  
  
-  
  
A/N: There is no A/N. The end for now. Good bye. An anti-ending before next chapter's...Hellish end to summer. Say Goodbye to Hollywood.


	14. Chapter 14: Falling Apart

**Read A/N at the end. Long, but its fun! And because it is what all the cool kids are doing. And you and I both know you are susceptible to peer pressure. So give in. Do it. You know you want to...**

-----

_"Harry, Harry, its me!"_

_Harry looked down at her and smiled. "I know." And with that he kissed her before standing and lifting her up effortlessly and carrying her up the stairs. Harry ignored the catcalls as he lifted her and carried her "just-married" style up the stairs and into their room._

_"And keep it down you two!"_

-----

**Chapter 14: How Quickly Things Fall Apart**

-----  
  
Under-aged Wizarding Laws are, flimsy at best. And the monitoring system is little better. In fact, they were horrid. There was one assigned to each wizard or witch that was under 17. These monitors had to work double, sometime triple duty, and therefore, worked on a 2 warning system. First time, a light lit and the person was sent an automated notice, a stamp copy of a warning, with their name printed on it.  
  
The second, their expulsion notice.  
  
And one that was done, the monitor was taken off of their magical signature, figuring it errant and non-existent any longer.  
  
And having been through 2 warnings and still having his wand and his magical signature firmly under his control,  
  
This was a factoid that Harry knew not of, but was thankful for nonetheless. All he needed was a Ministry Owl coming toward him at the time. He had his hands full.  
  
Half cart-wheeling from another Cruciatus Curse, he slipped behind a table as cover. And as he did, he sighed loudly, tugging and eventually ripping the tie from his neck and popping the top few buttons on the shirt he wore as well.  
  
Formal attire wasn't the best thing in the world to duel Death Eaters in.  
  
And as he turned to his side, Tonks squatted next to him, having just set down an unconscious Zoe softly to the ground. And as they looked at each other, the Death Eaters finally pooling together the brain power needed for one of them to cast a levitation charm on the table.  
  
Harry rolled to the side and fired a Stunner at one, and kept his roll, slipping behind a wall of an archway for cover as chunks were taken off by spells. "Damn it Heather. Damn it to hell. What have you been keeping from me. And where they hell are you."  
  
It was a weird way to spend the starting moments of the Summer Social.  
  
-----  
  
It had begun the day after his birthday. At precisely midnight. The 12 strikes of the clocks signified 12 deaths. They weren't people remarkable, but that was not the point. No, the point was that they had started there, and snowballed to greater numbers.  
  
Harry was only made aware of that a week after it had begun. He had been sitting on the couch in Zoe's house, flipping through some notebooks, making notes of musical notes, something that had come easily to him, and that J-Roc was explaining to him in detail as time went.  
  
But the notes were mentally charged. Impulse. His mind was focused on Heather. He smirked to think of it, but she was slipping.  
  
She _had_ been mysterious.  
  
She was losing her edge. She was slipping up, revealing knowledge about Harry that she shouldn't have had based on the information he had provided about himself. And all too many times he would wake to her tracing the two scars on his face, and something about it confused him.  
  
He would look at her and catch last remnants of some kind of sadness before she kissed him on the forehead in a good-morning ritual. He smiled, but something was off.  
  
And then slowly pieces of the puzzle began to be revealed.  
  
It all, ironically, started where it all began.  
  
On Privet Drive.  
  
Heather had gone back home to get more clothes, since Harry was staying there, she wanted to as well. She also needed to tell her mom a few things, as they had only spoken over the phone as of recent times. Harry had taken a stroll an hour or so after she left, awakened by the lack of her warmth by him. And he had found himself outside of the remains of Number 4.  
  
He sighed heavily and slowly to himself before he sank to the ground in front of the house, the weight of his whole world crashing back on him. He had pushed it away from him, becoming someone else. But he was back. And everything about him was weighing down on his shoulders.  
  
"Hard, ain't it." Harry turned and looked to find Bobby, or Robby as his mother had called him, standing there. He had yet to talk to Heather's brother at the time, but he knew he would have to. Outside of his old childhood hell, was not his idea of timing however. But he hadn't the energy to divert the imminent talk.  
  
Harry nodded finally, and Bobby continued. "Look Potter. A lot happened here, I know it did. And I know it is hard for you. But you have to get past that. For sake of future problems." He let this statement hang, as Harry took hold of it and allowed his mind to wrap around it. But before he could comprehend, a new speech sent him reeling. "I won't give you the 'stay away from my sister' routine, seeing as she feels safer around you than she has around me for a long time, and seeing that I have seen you mad, I doubt I could stop you. But heed this.  
  
"Don't hurt her Potter. And don't get her hurt. Don't you dare endanger my sister with your crappy, half-ass attempts at heroics. If you are going to play fucking Mighty Mouse and save the day, do it correctly. Save everyone at all costs. Don't sit there feeling glad you scraped out with the lives of 6 people with minimal incident. Do fucking better. And if you don't, and my sister dies, I swear to you, there will be hell to pay."  
  
Harry's mind took all of this information. But in some weird twist, one question slipped his mouth as the older boy turned to leave his companion with the last bit of information he had lectured.  
  
"My eyes...why? How..."  
  
Bobby scoffed at this. "That, you can thank someone you know quiet well for. Call it a gift...a gift from a man seeking to right his past mistakes. A man seeking forgiveness for carrying over a hatred from father to son. And seeking to return to the light. Freely. Openly."  
  
And with these words, Bobby walked off, hitting a corner to turn away from Harry.  
  
Harry sat, for the most part, completely confused. But he refused to look a gift horse in the mouth as he stood, milling the cryptic words Bobby had delivered over in his mind as he headed down the street.  
  
And had he looked the gift horse in said mouth, he would have realized something.  
  
One should never except a gift from Severus Snape.  
  
Especially one that Voldemort himself had ordered done. You see, Harry might have been able to see clearly. But through his eyes,  
  
So could Voldemort.  
  
Or at least...that was the plan.  
  
-----  
  
Things fell apart around Harry. Time had passed fine, but it had come to him the week before the Social that life was turning for the worst. He and Heather's relationship was progressing at a fair speed, and had he any random urges for female attention when she was not present, it had been made clear by 3 females in the house that he was free to look up Zoe and Kirstin.  
  
It was an odd relationship, but Harry loved it. And the name of the little group had stuck, and soon he was being teased for his Harem, as, at one random burst of hyperactivity, Zoe had laid him down and proceeded to feed him grapes. Harry smiled at his fortune, not realized the calm before the storm.  
  
That had all begun where it would all end.  
  
In the front room of Zoe's house.  
  
Heather had come in after Harry, carrying an armload of her things. Harry had dissected what Bobby had said, and, thus, concluded something.  
  
Bobby was no muggle.  
  
And that meant...  
  
"Harry, what's wrong?" She asked as she came in.  
  
"Nothing" he dismissed.  
  
"Don't lie to me."  
  
"Heather. You have lied to me for this long. I think I deserve one little reserved feeling."  
  
The girl looked taken aback by this, before she spoke. "Wha..."  
  
"You have kept all of this from me Heather...all of this. You have kept so much from me when I was so trusting to you. You led me to believe that you were completely normal, completely...different from everyone I knew. And I grew to like that so much about you."  
  
And then she grabbed him and dragged him upstairs, her clothing and his notebook left on the ground where they had been.  
  
It was the beginning of the end. The end of perfection.  
  
It was time for reality. Time to face the music.  
  
-----  
  
"What are you talking about" Heather shouted at him as she slammed the door of their room.  
  
"You are a witch...a bloody freaking witch, and you kept it from me!" He shouted, his eyes begging her to disagree with him. And thankfully, he got just that.  
  
"No, I am not." He let out a sigh of relief. "Not a witch. I am something else..."  
  
Harry looked at her, anger, confusion, and sadness fighting for control. "What the hell are you talking about. Tell me. Now."  
  
His demand fell on deaf ears. "Harry, Harry you have to trust me on this. You have to let time run its course. I beg of you, that you must trust me. I am not a witch, and I did not lie to you. I just...omitted some of the details."  
  
The conversation was bringing back far too many memories of the past school year, and he had an urge to dismember the room, and every piece of furniture, with his bare hands. And as his eyes fell on her, narrowed as they were, he was watching her. He was begging her to move. Longing for a move that would warrant some type of blow-up from his already steaming and shaking, unstable, emotions.  
  
And she didn't disappoint.  
  
She moved to hug him. And that was all he needed to react. The exact way he had promised not to. He broke down. His legs collapsed under the weight of the world, and tears, angry, burning tears leaked from his eyes as he fell into a fetal position, the beautiful house of cards that was built around him had imploded upon him, and he hadn't the strength to rise from the ashes.  
  
Heather moved to drop next to him, but his body was projecting something that told her not to come near her. His tears may have been falling, but his anger was just as prevalent, and there was some kind of scary anti-light coming from his eyes. Like, they were so dark and empty...like his soul was so dark and empty it was sucking all of the light and the life out of the room.  
  
He was broken.  
  
And she had dropped him.  
  
"What have I done..."  
  
-----  
  
He didn't speak to her for the next week. He was silent every time she was in the room, and cold to her when they slept. He made to sleep on the floor in the room, or even on one of the couches, but at one point Heather locked the door out of the room, blocked it, and eventually forced him into the room.  
  
She tried to talk to him, but his ears would find a way to become occupied, be it with him placing headphones on his head, him singing to himself while she spoke, or, at the worst, childish covering of the ears.  
  
Heather was tired, ashamed, and the looks Zoe gave her every time they were around Harry didn't help. But on the Saturday after Harry had stopped talking to her, the girl had other things on her mind. She was arranging her hair on top of her head, trying to find a style she liked. And as she looked into the mirror, she was suddenly aware of another form in the room. She turned and there he was. He was standing there, fiddling with the tie he was trying to put on. His hands were shaking for some reason, and he was muttering something to himself.  
  
That anti-light had yet to recede completely back inside of him it seemed, and Heather got very cold the closer she got to him. His eyes were dead to her. But she walked over to help him with the tie. Her hands were just nearing him, to grab his attention when he whirled around. He looked dead in her eyes and she felt a cold gust of air that froze her in place.  
  
He shouted out, looking directly at her as her hands were out to tie the tie, "Kirstin, could you come in here and help me with this!" Heather flinched back as he did this, and Kirstin turned into the room from down the hall. She looked to the scene and headed over to Harry, tying the tie before looking at Heather with a "we need to talk" gaze before clicking from the room, the tight-fitting sapphire dress she wore sparkling as she rounded the corner.  
  
Harry sank down to the side of the bed, his head in his hands as his legs moved to prop up against his trunk. His body shut down for some time, breathing the only sound coming from him. Heather noted that it slowed a great deal, and the cold was steadily going away. It was less prevalent and more recessive, a slight breeze in the back, far off, and no longer a cold hurricane. A hurricane of pain.  
  
Pain she caused.  
  
"Jimmy, get down here!" J-Roc shouted, the nickname he had given Harry the day before while the boy was drunk out of his mind seeming to not have detached so soon. Harry had told him his full name, and the drunk boy had deemed it necessary to call Harry by his middle name, as he did with several girls and guys he knew, and that was all fine and good in his mind. However, it bothered Harry.  
  
He was not his father.  
  
And it reminded him of something Sirius would have done with his father.  
  
Standing, pushing his hair back away from his face, Harry seemed to give himself a shake. And with a plastered-on smile on his face, he grabbed the leather jacket he had on the bed and headed out of the door, slipping it on as he turned the corner.  
  
Heather sighed loudly. She was tired of what was happening. She regretted it, but it had to be done. So, putting past problems aside, she applied the last of her eye-liner and then grabbed the sheer emerald shawl she had set out and wrapped it over her shoulders before heading out of the room and down the stairs.  
  
-----  
  
Planning things ahead is a horrible human practice. One assumes automatically that things will be exactly as they believe they will as time passes. But that is rarely the case. Which it why it was very odd that the dance planning had been made so that, Harry was to escort Heather.  
  
And Harry wasn't one to break promises. Not one to, god forbid, _lie_. So, as they got to the dance hall for the Social, he held out his arm toward her. She slipped her arm through his, ignoring the slight cold as she entered.  
  
And as they took their seats, they were preparing themselves for a fairly normal, fairly boring evening, outside of the flask J-Roc carried full of his "soda".  
  
-----  
  
That had been half an hour and a Death Eater raid ago.  
  
Harry was hiding behind another table, his wand held in his hand as he thought of something to do. But as he did, he heard a scream. One he recognized.  
  
Heather.  
  
He had sent her outside with all of the other people, feeling that if she had some kind of magic like she apparently did, she could protect those people. And did the girl listen...no.  
  
Turning to look, he watched as one of the Death Eaters stalked toward her, full garb and mask. After the initial scream, the girl had stopped talking and was looking at the figure silently. The Death Eater's back was to Harry, but he got up and ran, dive-tackling the Death Eater. He landed on the figure and pulled back, about to slam a hard right hand into the figure's face. But as he was about to slam his fist into the face, he looked at it.  
  
Bobby...?  
  
And as he hesitated, he was hit with a hard, powerful blast.  
  
_Cruciatus.  
_  
He fell on the ground, feeling the pain rack his body. And he began to see the world through a haze. A haze of pain. And what he saw awakened something it had taken him 5 minutes of deep concentration to repress. Heather was standing, kneeling by him before a similar red light hit her, the same curse that was effecting him.  
  
And as she fell to the ground and screamed, something snapped in Harry. And even through the intense pain, another feeling hit Heather. Cold. Intense, deep, powerfully disgusting, all-consuming cold.  
  
And Harry stood. The pain was still there. But it was fueling him. Pulling him to his feet. And he found the Death Eater who had cursed Heather. Who was holding it on her. And he ran for him, intent to stop the pain she was feeling.  
  
Bobby would later describe what he saw as a blur of black pain running around the room. It was a moving shadow that seemed to put everyone it touched in a coma.  
  
But soon Bobby jumped up, and Harry was back, checking on Heather. And as more Death Eaters kicked in the doors and rushed into the room, they leapt up. Tonks was across the room firing spells, and Harry and Bobby were left. Bobby was mad. Very mad. He had told them, specifically, that they could not kill anyone, and _could not_ harm Heather.  
  
They had.  
  
And standing side by side, a Death Eater and the most wanted teenager in the wizarding world went through, spells firings and picking through the Death Eaters. Soon they found themselves on the stage, faced with only a few left.  
  
And suddenly Harry was aware of a dark form near Heather. He knew the body shape, and he knew what was happening. He knew who it was. Through the haze of anti-lighting and the darkness he was in, he could see almost through the person to their soul. And he knew who it was.  
  
He jumped from the stage and over the last 3 Death Eaters and slid across the floor. He ran and grabbed the Death Eater by the shoulder and through him back. The Death Eater flew to the side and hit his back on the wall a good 3 feet up, and slid down. And Harry's eyes fell on him.  
  
Tim.  
  
Harry started kicking the boy in the head and the body again and again and again. He just kept stomping on him until he was dragged off by Bobby. And Bobby was soon dispatched by a shrug and Harry was back to stomping. However, he missed the wand, as Tim cast a banishing charm. Harry flew back and hit his head with a thump, and a thick strip of blood was made on the wall leading from it to his head.  
  
And the last thoughts going through his head were, _I am going to kick his sorry, punk a...  
_  
-----  
  
Harry awoke in the front entryway of Zoe's house, to find Tonks sitting next to him. She was looking at a letter in her hands, reading it over. She looked to Harry, smiling softly at him. And then she spoke. "Harry, I hate to do this. And I know you do not want to hear it or do it. But after this, you have to."  
  
Harry looked to her.  
  
"You are going to the Burrow."  
  
-----  
  
Harry was soon at the Burrow, standing before it with his trunk and Hedwig perched on his shoulder. He hadn't even been given a moment to say good-bye to Heather. And he didn't know if he would have even it he had the chance. Instead, he walked forward, the trunk hefted up with both hands as he headed to the door. Knocking on it, the door was flung open and Molly Weasley stood there. She reached up to hug him.  
  
And as she did, her hand came back with his blood on it. Tonks apparently hadn't healed him, something that wasn't bothering him as much as one would think. She sighed and told him to sit on one of the couches. He entered and sat down on the couch, and as soon as he did, laying his head back gently and closing his eyes, he heard a mass number of feet slamming into the steps as a number of people ran down the stairs.  
  
Harry looked up to see Ron, Ginny, Hermione, and Molly all eying him. He looked to them all before closing his eyes again, fighting back a groan and a sigh, contenting himself on trying to sleep.  
  
But thus, it was not to be so. His drifting thoughts were of the world all around him, and as that world drifted, a new one came.  
  
-----  
  
Anti-Light. Not darkness, but as opposing to both forces as possible. Darkness if the lack of light. This...this was as far from light as possible.  
  
It was an empty black-hole.  
  
And it was sucking at Harry's soul. It was pulling it from him as much as possible. It was yanking, clawing, itching for his soul. And as Harry opened his eyes from the screaming of his inner dream, expecting to find Dementors, he found something different altogether.  
  
He stood there. He was a tall, muscular figure with very long, sweeping black hair. He had many scars on his upper body, which was exposed. There was one that went across his jawbone, and another that slashed across his eye. He had his back to Harry, his head turned just slightly, and as his hair swished and swayed in an untouchably non-existent wind, his back showed more scars, and there was one that went all the way up his spinal column.  
  
As Harry marveled at this, the figure looked directly into Harry's eyes. His eyes were almost a deep black, but were in fact, a hunter green coloring. And as he looked to Harry, Harry felt something very odd. Something unnerving. The feeling one gets when looking into a mirror.  
  
"Hello Harry." Harry looked at the figure, wondering who it was and why they were in his dreams. As if understanding this, he spoke. "I...You know who I am. I am Necros Slytherin. But you may know me more as something else."  
  
"And that is?" Harry asked, growing impatient of the game when the man was quiet for a good time.  
  
He smirked at Harry's impatience. "I am part of you. More, I am part of your soul. You may know me from that legend your professor spoke of. I usually went by...Nox Eternal." Harry looked at the man like he had just told the boy he was the soul of a sword...  
  
Oh, he had.  
  
"And...why are you here?"  
  
"I am here, young one, to assure both our survivals. I am here to make sure that, should the shit truly "hits the fan" as I have heard said, you will be ready. And able to harness all of the power I am giving you by being attached to you. And for you to learn the inner-workings of your own personal skills. I am here to ensure that we work together, the best way possible."  
  
Harry was silent. "So what, are you going to train me? Train me in my dreams somehow? Because that seems so...lame." The man smiled at this, showing shining white teeth and a set of canines that looked odd. And though not abnormal in size or shape, they were oddly...scary-looking.  
  
"Of course not." And with those words the man walked toward Harry. "But you are going to have to trust me." Harry nodded in understanding, and the man seemed to ghost away, becoming less solid-looking, and more transparent as he neared Harry. And He seemed to slip into Harry, which is where the boy assumed he was anyways, before Harry felt a jolt, and the dream world rounded the drain before slipping in, leaving Harry in the foyer of the Burrow, laying on the ground next to the couch he had been asleep on. His eyes stared up at the ceiling, and he sighed, standing and kicking the couch once before making to head upstairs.  
  
And it would have been easy to do and not wake Ginny, who was sleeping on the couch across from him, had he not ended up doing something that shouldn't have been possible at the time.  
  
He kicked a whole into the couch. He stood there, staring at the large hole in the wooden frame of the couch. He soon heard groaning as Ginny awakened, and he turned and ran up the stairs, finding Ron's room and slipping in.  
  
-----  
  
Harry found Ron sitting up reading a magazine. He looked to his friend, who tried to hide it. Harry shook his head and asked. "What are you doing Ron?"  
  
The boy blushed before pulling out the issue of Wizard's Weekly he had been reading through. Harry raised an eyebrow before the boy clarified. "An article in here. It tells how to, non-magically, get the girl you like to like you back." Once more Harry raised his eyebrow.  
  
"And who is the girl, Ron?" Harry asked.  
  
Ron swallowed audibly before sighing. "Hermione."  
  
Harry's mind kicked in. _Now that was completely unexpected. I mean, I could see how and why, but I can also see that...Damn, I almost feel bad for him. Hermione doesn't like him like that, and it is seriously going to be hard when she has to tell him..._  
  
Harry's thoughts trailed off as he sighed and headed over to the lights. "Let's head to sleep. We can figure that out in the morning." The redhead nodded and headed to the bed, Harry taking the one he usually took. However, soon Ron asked to switch beds. The redhead had been sleeping in the other one secretly, wanting to be away from the door, as the air coming in from other was cold and bothered his slight allergies. Harry nodded, switching beds with him and then settling in to go to sleep.  
  
He had no idea how this switch would effect the group of teenagers at the Burrow for all the rest of the summer.  
  
For, sometime after both boys were deep asleep, the door slipped open. A small, lithe redheaded girl crept. She looked and saw the bed she figured Harry was in.  
  
"Look at his short, messy hair. I always loved it like that." She thought to herself. And then she looked to where her brother was supposedly sleeping. "I didn't know his hair was getting that long. Going to have to sneak up on him with some scissors before Mum does. Don't want it all gone, just...presentable." And with these thoughts Ginny headed over to the bed she assumed Harry was in. She pulled back the covers, wondering why Ron would let Harry borrow his favorite pajamas, before slipping in and pulling the covers up again. She sighed, having wanted to feel warmth of another body against her.  
  
-----  
  
The next morning Harry awoke to the sun just peaking up over the horizon. He stood from his bed and headed to get his things together to run, slipping on some sweats, his pullover and some trainers. However, before he left he went over to check on Ron and make sure the boy was not awakened when Harry bumped into his own trunk on accident.  
  
And what he saw scared him, confused him, worried him and made him want to burst out laughing then and there. As he watched the spectacle, Hermione slipped in through the door, heading to do something or another it the room it seemed. She came up next to him and gasped at the sight.  
  
Ron and Ginny Weasley were in bed together...  
  
Spooning.  
  
Ron stirred at the girl's gasp, and as he sighed and scooted closer to the warm, female body against him, he opened his eyes slightly. And when his eyes did not come into contact with a hint of mahogany hair, they flew wide open. And his vision was assaulted with a mass of red hair in front of him that was not his own.  
  
And he looked up to see Harry and Hermione looking, Harry looking confused, and Hermione between disgusted and hurt. Ron jumped up, which succeeded in waking up Ginny. "What Harry...its too early." She moaned in her sleep, something that, should someone have been watching, brought a flash of indignation to Hermione's face.  
  
And Ron was watching.  
  
And as Ginny got up and saw her brother, and then the two spectators, she jumped and then scrambled from the room, blushing furiously. And after a few seconds of quiet, Harry spoke. "Uh...what just happened there? Am I dreaming? Because if I am, this is not a pleasant dream."

"Yes. Much more like a nightmare." Hermione continued.

"A hilarious nightmare, of course. I am probably laughing my bloody head off in my sleep..."  
  
"Shut it Harry. Shut it now!" Ron shouted. Harry looked taken aback. Ron clarified. "Didn't you see Harry. All of these girls love you. Those girls back at Privet, the muggles, they love you. My sister wants you. And now you have Hermione under your wing too! You have Hermione pining for you too. Am I left with nothing?"  
  
Harry held up his hands defensively. "Whoa there. Slow down and put it into reverse. What _are_ you talking about?" Harry looked to Hermione. "And she doesn't like me like that. Trust me. I know."  
  
"Yeah. Harry is nothing more than a brother to me." Hermione verified.

Ron's eyes brightened at this. And he immediately made his move. "So Hermione, if that is the case, how about you and I do something..." He didn't even get to finish.  
  
"I can't Ron. I am...sort of...seeing someone right now." Ron's face fell.  
  
"Is it Krum?" Hermione shook her head. The boy made a few more random guesses, centering around Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff house. And then he made one more inquiry on the identity. "Is it Malfoy?"  
  
Harry and Hermione made faces at this. Ron looked apologetic for his lack of tact. And then made another attempt. "Is it someone I know." Hermione nodded, worriedly. "Damn it. I am tired of guessing. Who is it Hermione?" Ron more demanded that asked.  
  
Hermione looked very wary. Harry patted her on the back, and Hermione finally explained. "Ron, if I tell you this, you can not get mad." Ron nodded. "Promise Me."

Ron looked like he was edgy about that, but nodded. "I am sure as long as it isn't a Slytherin, or Krum, I will be fine."  
  
"I doubt it." Hermione said. And she took a deep breath before saying it finally. "Ron, since May, I have been...seeing..."  
  
And here she muttered. Ron growled. "Come on, who is it then."  
  
"I have been seeing...Ginny."  
  
**-----  
  
A/N: And I hate you all, so I shall end it there. insert evil laugh. No, but I love you all, but these cliffies make me want to write more faster so I can know what is going to happen too. So there. There is a reason.  
  
I almost had some people fooled, thinking there was clear shot for Hr/R in this fic with Harry caught up with Heather. People almost thought they had the ships figured out. Never assume you know what I am doing. If I don't, how can you!?!  
  
--RANT AHEAD! Important, so read anyways, k? ok, good--  
  
But here you go, good luck, and if you wanna review, feel free. Oh, and something to remind people. READ! Don't put certain stories on alert and then go off, not reading anything but those. It kills the number of reviews new stories get, and makes people miss great stories. I love to read when I can, and it is a great service top read someone's work and an even better one, to review. That is great, but flaming...that must end. Don't like, don't talk. I found a message board calling Heather a Sue. Think so now? But thank you whoever started it, I think your name was Kristin. I mean, the analysis you put into putting me down made me happy. You had to have paid attention and spent a great deal of time doing that, more time that most people spend leaving a regular review, so, thanks. Now you made me want to add a few more words to that "69,000 words of nonsense."  
  
Going for an ever 300,000, maybe more. Wish me luck baby! Hope you like the nonsense. And I hope how you liked how my one comment shut down your whole board. STILL THINK HEATHER'S A SUE? If you do, you need a psyche analysis. There is no such think as a Sue in an HP fic when HARRY CAN KICK PEOPLE'S ASSES LIKE HE DOES. And besides, having a Sue or Stu is very difficult. Difficult in, if Harry seems all powerful and people call him a Stu, and then you have someone kick his ass, then they are a Stu and Harry is being pushed back and made to be less powerful and not the main character. It's a vicious cycle, with no clear balance of power...  
  
There are so many people in HP more powerful than Harry. Come on now people, think for a moment! Is Dumbledore a Stu? Because with the things I am hearing about my characters, everyone in HP stronger than Harry himself therefore classifies as either a Sue/Stu, and thereby making half the series "unbelievable" and "crappy". But its not!  
  
Bottom line: Don't flame. Flamers are uncreative people who get their jollies from bringing other people down. You don't need talent as a writer or mental capacity at all to do a shitty flame like: "Dis sux!" as I have seen. It takes a smart, Language-Literate person to be able to write a constructive critique, and if you can't do that and you know it, just sit in a corner with a dunce hat on and suck your thumb. And when you are done, sit on it you sorry, sorry bastards.  
  
From here on, Flames will be donated to the Help TK Get His Fire Back Foundation.  
  
Thank you, and that is all.**

**Puts back on Happy TK Lee face again  
  
To those great _reviewers_ who I love so much and have gotten me this far, I love you all. These next few chapters are the start of the hardcore storyline, and lemme know how you feel about storyline changes and such. Feel free to contact me at any time to discuss if you like, as you come first before anything else. The readers come before even myself right now, only second to the writing. So, wish me luck as a dodge summer school and slip time to write between supposed "make-up assignments", something I should be doing now.  
  
I got a 2 day break from hell, before I was right back in there. I got 2 days of summer break, then they tried to send me to summer school.  
  
Nope. I ain't goin'!  
  
Peacers, TK  
  
...no more sugar at 3 am...  
  
And everyone! Go Buy the new Beastie Boys' Album "To the 5 Boroughs". I shall buy it today (6/22) and I want them going Platinum so they can get all that Bling Bling shiza and so on and so forth. :-D, but I love the songs, its great anger, writing music for me. Them, Linkin Park, D12...maybe I will do TK's Writing Soundtrack. Lemm know.  
  
As 'Tae says, Peace, Love and Hairgrease  
  
And I'm outtie 5000  
  
(6/23) I got the CD, and I have been listening to it. I love it, it is funny as hell, and Its cool. All 3 of them are sick as hell, and I think that the whole CD is great. I love track 5: Rhyme the Rhyme Well, track 6: Triple Trouble and, as always, track 1: Ch-Check It Out, which you all should! **

**Soon! **

**Like...Now!**


	15. Chapter 15: Necros

**Mwhahahahahahaha!! Now, what if I ended the story with the last chapter? Would you all hate me? ... Good. You should. But obviously I wouldn't do that to you all...so today, (6/29) instead of doing summer school work to make sure I get to graduate, I will work on this chapter. Happy?  
  
Oh, and as a warning, this chapter might have some R elements in it, and may be the start of the new rating...  
**  
-----  
  
Heather sat on her bed at her house. Bobby had brought her home after the attack and tucked her in, and she had cried herself to sleep, and hadn't even made to get out of the emerald-colored dress she had worn.  
  
Emerald.  
  
That had, at one time, been the boy's eye color. But after what she had seen last night...  
  
"Harry." She breathed out his name in little more than a sigh. She couldn't help but think she had caused it all. And changed him.  
  
Because, through the haze of pain she had felt on that curse, she had been able to see him. It had taken extreme pain for her _to_ have been able to watch him. Because when he stood, after she was hit with the curse,  
  
He was living, breathing, moving pain. He was the embodiment, the incarnation of "Death's younger brother" as she called it. And she felt the cold. The cold of his soul. A feeling that had only leaked out,  
  
Because she had been holding his fragile being,  
  
And dropped it.  
  
She had dropped the glass Pandora's Box, and now she was not in shock at all as the darkness spread everywhere.  
  
Not surprised. But very ashamed.  
  
And completely responsible.  
  
And as she had watched her brother, she had sighed in defeat. She knew he had a reason for being out all of those times, but now she knew. She put it all together. She put together the fact that Vernon Dursley was beaten to death with a baseball bat, and the fact that her brother had shown up to the dance looking for Tim with such an object. In England, baseball bats are not found in every house, and she was shocked she didn't see it before.  
  
She was responsible for everything.  
  
In some way, shape of form, she blamed herself for the pain Harry felt, and she wanted nothing more than to help be the one who took it all away as well. She wanted to heal him after she had hurt him.  
  
And she'd be damned if she didn't get to.  
  
-----  
  
Ron sat there.  
  
He was about as still as a statue, looking up at Hermione from his bed. And for the most part, Hermione stared back, gauging a reaction. Everyone could tell that she wanted to go after Ginny, she was looking at the door every so often to see whether the girl came back or not.  
  
So Harry looked to them, and could see the blood making its way to Ron's ears. He knew it would be bad, and curses would fly. And not the magical kind. So, nudging Hermione, he told her with his eyes, to go after Ginny. The girl looked at him as if to say "are you sure", and Harry nodded. So she turned and left. And Harry followed her, and closed the door behind her. He turned to Ron, whose ears seemed to finally be red enough that his anger could come out.  
  
And through gritted teeth, he looked to Harry. "Tell me I am dreaming." Harry shook his head. "Then tell me that was a joke." Harry, again shook his head. Ron was silent for some time. "Then...tell me something, Harry. Tell me how, why?"  
  
Harry breathed deeply, and sat on his bed, looking at Ron. "There isn't a lot I know, Ron, but I can start with what Hermione told me."  
  
Ron looked up like he wanted to say something about this, but seeing the display he had just seen, he put it in the back of his mind, not caring to get mad at his friend for spending time with Hermione when it was his sister he would have been cautious about.  
  
"Well..."  
  
-----  
  
Hermione found Ginny very easily. She was in her room. And as Hermione came through the door and saw the red-head, her eyes dropped from sadly lowered to narrowed in an instant.  
  
And as Hermione entered, Ginny looked up, still clutching the stuffed teddy bear the girl had had all of her life. It was her safety blanket at times when she was sad or confused. Hermione knew, she had seen the girl use it many a times fretting over Harry Potter.  
  
"And what was that all about, Gin?" Hermione asked, trying to keep her temper down. Ginny looked at her, looked into her eyes, and turned from her. Hermione walked over to her and sat on the bed next to her.  
  
The older girl had always been understanding of the fact that she was going into a relationship with someone younger then her. And it had all started spontaneously. They both needed to feel loved. Like they were worth something. And it all hadn't been about love, but about convenience, and a want to be friends with each other, and therefore, be there for the other when they needed it. But that had truly been where the problems began, and Hermione knew it.  
  
She was not gay, she still saw guys as her main priority, but when she was with Ginny, she did the same thing as with her classes. She may have seen Transfiguration as more important that Arithmacy, but she didn't work on her Transfiguration work during Arithmacy class. She focused on what she was doing at the time. And therefore, who she was with.  
  
And because of that, she had not seen it. No, she had seen it too late. For Ginny, she was always second priority. She was what the girl had settled for. Ginny wanted Harry since before she knew what wanting someone was. And Hermione couldn't beat that. But Hermione wanted Ginny to not end up hurt. She did not want the girl to get pained from finding out that Harry had not been waiting for her as she had for him.  
  
But Hermione could not save the world. And she could not save Ginny. And in trying, she had ended up getting herself hurt, and hurting Ron.  
  
Ron...  
  
There was another story. She could not see her and Ron working out. She saw arguing and he saw flirting. And she...she couldn't do it. He was her brother, he was the one she turned to when she couldn't go to anyone else. And in truth, as Ginny saw her as a second-choice partner, second to Harry, and possible behind more people, Hermione saw Ron as a second-choice friend. And she knew that, where it not for Harry, her and Ron would have never been able to stand each other. In prefect meetings, she bit his head off when he did something stupid, and he mocked her often. Which she saw as stupid, and therefore proceeded to berate and destroy his masculinity in front of everyone.  
  
It was a horrible cycle.  
  
But that was not the issue at hand. She turned to Ginny, and the younger girl looked at her. She could see in Hermione's eyes that the girl had figured it out for herself. Figured out what had gone on, and there was not anger.  
  
"So this is...it?" Ginny asked, tearing slightly at how she had ruined another relationship by pining after Harry. She had gone after Corner because the boy had wised up to the fact that he looked similar to Harry should he used some hair-charms to ruffle and un-tame his hair, and starve himself for 2 of 3 meals a day. And she had almost been happy. But then, during a snog, she had called him Harry's name. And Ginny didn't want to be hung up on him. Not anymore.  
  
Hermione, however, nodded. And she leaned over and kissed Ginny on the forehead softly before standing and walking away from the room, a little weight off her shoulders as she figured it out. She figured out her place, and her phase had passed, and she was assured that she would have a life ahead of her with a man, yes, a man, who would love her for who she was.  
  
Finding that man, that would be another story altogether.  
  
-----  
  
"...And that is what Hermione told me when I went over not too long ago." Harry finished relating the story to Ron that had been told to him by Hermione.  
  
"So she still likes guys..." Ron asked. Harry nodded. The redhead brightened considerably, "So I have a chance!" He said rhetorically. But he got an answer.  
  
"Not a snowball's chance in hell my friend. Not one at all."  
  
Ron looked indignant. "Yes I do."  
  
Harry sighed. "Fine. I will pay for your first date. I know just what she would love to see when you two go out." Ron looked joyous.  
  
"What!" he asked excitedly.  
  
"The penguins in hell." Ron's face fell. "I hear they are nice this year. In migration from the first level all the way to the ninth. It's supposed to be an amazing event." Ron rolled his eyes but stood up, smiling despite it. He slapped Harry on the shoulder good-naturedly and then helped pull his friend up, and they headed downstairs.  
  
Before they got there, Ron stopped Harry. "Thanks man. For...helping me understand this."  
  
Harry nodded, and they gave each other a brotherly hug, before Harry walked over and grabbed the bass guitar and headed out of the house, going outside to practice some. However, he turned and lifted his trunk and brought it out as well, sitting on it as he curled his legs up under him and began the baseline to a song he had been trying to write for the longest time.  
  
His fingers moved, plucking the strings as he tried to find a good rhythm. Soon enough he figured he had it, and pulled out a notebook and a pen and wrote down the chords that were necessary for him to play in order to produce it repeatedly.  
  
So, once that was done, he ripped out some more of the pages in his notebook and put them in an envelope he had prepared since Tonks had told him he was leaving, and slipped the papers in, making sure the address was correct, and the name clearly said "Justin Rockwell" on the outside. Then, placing the bass in the trunk, he laid back and sighed, his legs and head hanging off the sides of the trunk, and his arms dangling as well.  
  
Suddenly he felt a weight on his stomach and he looked up to find Hermione leaning back. She was standing, with her arms on his stomach in a position as if she was going to hop up and take a seat on his abdomen. Harry was sure she wasn't heavy or anything, but he had no desire to explain any of that all over again to Ron, so he sat up and swung his legs around so they were under him again, and made room for her to sit.  
  
And in the silence, he began to think about Heather.  
  
She had lied to him for a long time, and even in the confrontation, when he gave her a chance to confess, she still lied. Insisted that she was not a witch and that she had done it all for a reason. That she had had to do it. But he wondered. If she lied about that, did she lie about caring about him? She obviously knew who he was, if not from the beginning, for some time. So was she lying just to get close to him. Or did she feel for him what he felt for her.  
  
Was what he felt real at all? A love potion, something?  
  
All of the questions left his mind reeling, and he made to slam his head back against the back of the bench he was sitting on much like he had done with the couch before.  
  
Only problem was, he wasn't sitting on a bench.  
  
He was sitting on his trunk, and his movement sent him flipping back and right off the back of the trunk.  
  
He turned a half-flip in his fall, not by will, but by inertia, and landed on his front, face down, in the dirt.  
  
He groaned slowly as he coughed out some of the dirt he had inadvertently gotten caught in his mouth during his startled cry as he had fallen. Hermione hopped off the trunk, where she had been thinking about her own issues, and looked down to him. He groaned and coughed, spitting out a bit of blood that he had no idea where it came from, before trying to stand. Grabbing his hand, Hermione made to pull him up. He took her hand, and she pulled hard to get him to stand. And when he stood suddenly, she toppled back over the firmly planted trunk, its weight too much to be moved by her, and with her hand still clasped to Harry's pulled him over again.  
  
And in the flip of inertia, she landed on top of him, and he was, once more, laying on the ground in pain.  
  
And that was how Ginny and Ron found them as they came outside to investigate the scream.  
  
"Uh...its not what it looks like..."  
  
-----  
  
After explaining things quickly, Harry forced them all to go running with him. He told Ron that it was good Quidditch training for the next year. Ginny went to follow Harry, finding clothes that were a year or two old and fairly tight on her developing body. And Hermione went so that she could talk to Harry.  
  
And oddly enough, it was just that way. Harry running, still lighter than normal, but at a good pace, and with Hermione right next to him, in between breathing, talking about his guitar playing. The girl had noticed that Harry was hanging around J-Roc. She knew him from grade school, and was amazed when Harry told him about the whole thing with Kris.  
  
"He gave you that thing? He was obsessed with that damned thing." Harry nodded, and they let the sound of feet pounding overcome the silence for some time. And then she continued. "The boy is a genus in anything musical. It's scary. He used to literally teach out damned music class back in primary. As in, he knew more than the teacher, and by the end of the year, had us playing some hard pieces, when the teacher had us scheduled to just do some simple harmonizing. Him...he can do magic. And you outworked him on his most beloved instrument..."  
  
And as they ran, Harry balanced it in his head of whether to tell her or not. "Hermione...do you know about Disembodied Soul?" He asked as they ran.  
  
Hermione's eyes glossed for a second, and she got a look of trying to remember something, and then her eyes snapped in recognition. "Yes, I heard about it. Right something about it. It was a theory about how there are, often, too many souls for the people alive in the world. And the souls are therefore allowed free roam before they are forced to bond to something else. It was a theorem in the ministry submitted by a muggle-born. Best one I have ever read, but it lost its recognition because she was not a pureblood. It was written by..." She looked like she was trying to remember.  
  
"Lily Evans." He finished for her. Her steps faltered for a moment as she heard this, and then looked at him as she resumed running in stride.  
  
"So that's why you wanted to know if I knew..."  
  
"Not just that." Harry was silent for a while. And as he jogged, he began to weigh who he could tell about his plight. Tell how his soul was flash- welded to the spirit of a _weapon_ by his mother. Harry instead shook his head and answered a different way, deciding that instead of worrying about trying to explain everything at the time, he would explain it all as it became more of a difficult situation to handle. "It has something to do with Kris. She is a Disembodied Soul, and is connected to that guitar."  
  
Hermione seemed completely unaffected by this, though she seemed to be weighing it in my head. "Bet she's crazy, huh?" Harry nodded. And they ran for a bit more. Soon they were done running, and they stood, doing cool down stretches and wiping off the sweat everyone seemed to have accumulated, Harry being the least of them all. He was barely even starting to sweat when others' shirts were near sticking to them on their backs. It was fairly hot at the time, and that could have been the reason.  
  
So as they all headed into the house, Hermione walked by Harry. "When you are finally ready to tell me what you know, what is going on with you, I'm here." Harry turned to Hermione and smiled, wrapping her in a big hug. "Ugh! Nasty, get off me!" She fake screamed. Then she made a huge action of fanning her nose. "And go bathe you nasty, nasty boy!" And she smiled at him, and he smiled back, and then they both went their different ways up the stairs.  
  
-----  
  
Harry walked into the room after his shower to a very...awkward scene. Ron stood before the mirror, dressed in some shorts and nothing else, with his hair still damp, and the redhead doing hip-gyrating motions before a mirror to blasting music on the Wizarding Wireless. He seemed to be happy with his dancing, as he messed with his hair, looking for a good style to leave it in. Harry gaped at his friend, and then covered his mouth to hide his laughter, Harry cleared his throat.  
  
Ron jumped, spun around, saw Harry, and tried to dive to turn the Wireless off and grab the sweats sitting on the bed in the other direction, both at once. This caused him to get caught in-between diving. So, in a position of mid-dive very much like a typical super-hero flying, Ron fell on the ground in a heap. Harry couldn't hold it anymore and stumbled back against the doorframe laughing. Hard. And he soon slumped down to a near seated position with his back to the wall, laughing hard, as Ron rolled over on his back and laughed too.  
  
Soon, tears were breaking at Harry's eyes as he slowed the laughter and stood, Ron doing the same. They both turned to see Hermione and Ginny, as well as, oddly enough, Alicia Spinnet, standing there looking at them like they had just escaped the mental ward.  
  
Ron made to explain, and Harry tried at the same time, but both soon concluded to just not, and move on to a question they had. "Alicia, what are you doing here?" Ron asked. "Here to see the Twins?"  
  
"Actually no. George and I separated a good month and a half ago. I am here to talk to Molly about a few things, concerning my position at Hogwarts next term."  
  
"Didn't you graduate?" Hermione asked. They looked at her, and she smiled and winked.  
  
"I did. But you see, a lot is happening at Hogwarts this year. And since I want to be a teacher, they are going to work me into a program called the Teacher-In-Training program."  
  
It took Harry and minute, and Ron as well, before both boys broke into huge grins and chuckles hidden behind their hands. The girls looked at them in confusion, and when they were far enough to not get hit, they explained. "Teacher-In-Training, its acronym would be..." And Harry let this sentence hang before he headed over to his bed and took a seat. He looked to Alicia, whose eyes were focused on him in a way that made it seem passive, but yet still intent and still there.  
  
And he became all the more aware that he was naked from the waist up, and was clothed only in his own pair of black felt sweatpants. He was not self- conscious in any way, but the way her eyes were on him made him feel...it almost seemed predatory in a slight way.  
  
_Did she just lick her lips and wink at me_? Harry thought. But he was sure he was imagining it, that she had something in her eye, and her lips were dry. So, he ruffled his hair slightly, finding it still falling down his neck and refusing to do as it once had and stay insanely out of place. So, he laid back on the bed, humming the guitar solo to a song J-Roc had played for him once.  
  
Alicia came over and sat down, saying she would be waiting for Molly to return from wherever she went, and Harry felt 2 dips onto his bed. He could smell Hermione's familiar vanilla scent, and then there was a new one. This one was strawberries, and fresh rain.  
  
He looked up to find Alicia looking at him. Harry felt a little...weird. And then she smiled. "I can't believe you are humming Michael Jackson."  
  
"Who?" Harry asked.  
  
"That song, its from a song by...he's a muggle sing...nevermind." She sighed at his complete look of lack of understanding.  
  
Harry knew who sang the song, he was hoping she would get fed up and get off of his bed.  
  
And it didn't work. But soon enough, between Ron, Ginny and Alicia getting involved in a conversation about the Quidditch league, and Keepers to Chaser ratio of importance, Harry and Hermione were left simply...not talking.  
  
Soon enough, Hermione turned to Harry, who was about as out of the conversation as she was. As he sat there, having pulled out the notebook he had had out before, he looked in his own world, but one could see, watching him, that he would look up every so often and look at the animated conversation with a look of sadness and longing.  
  
"They will lift the ban this year, Dumbledore will make sure..." Hermione tried, but the look on Harry's face told her it wouldn't be happening.  
  
"No. I am a weapon now. I don't have the time to fly around on my broom when I am supposed to be shooting curses out of my wand." He said in a weird display of introversion before he looked back to the notebook.  
  
"Harry! You aren't a weapon." Hermione said, looking at him oddly. She knew the prophecy, he had told her, but she still didn't think of him as a weapon. These words seemed to set him off. His eyes narrowed, and his eyes got darker. She knew it wasn't possible for them to truly get darker, but it seemed like it.  
  
"Yes. That's all I am. A living, breathing sword that has to kill. And when I do that, then they will knock me off. They will be too scared of me."  
  
There was a darkness to these words, and undertone that made it sound like it wasn't just Harry's voice saying these things. That it was, in fact, someone else saying it at the same time as Harry. However, Hermione had no time to determine this as Harry stood, leaving the notebook and everything, and heading out of the room.  
  
And around his body, Hermione watched, the very world, the earth seemed to warp around him, like the air around him was contorting and bending, twisting swirling. Her mouth fell open as she looked at him as he headed out of the house. And he did something very awkward. He began de-gnoming the garden.  
  
Only problem was, with one throw, he not only sent the gnome over the hedge, he sent it a good deal further. So far that Hermione could not see where it went.  
  
-----  
  
Harry soon worked off his anger. He was angry for a reason not of his own. No, it was for one Necros Slytherin. His indignation came from that man deep inside of him. But as he replayed the words he said, he realized something.  
  
A weapon created to destroy.  
  
And when it did, and got good at it,  
  
Once it outlived its purpose...  
  
They locked it away.  
  
Got rid of it.  
  
And Harry saw it. Saw how that was concerning him. He, who would have to rid the world of Voldemort...he was a weapon. And doing it on other people's terms guaranteed that, once Voldemort was gone, he would be weak and unable to stop them from locking him away. Having outlived his purpose, they no longer would need him.  
  
In the Game of Life, he was destined for either death or life locked away in a closet.  
  
If he played by the rules.  
  
And Harry was entirely aware that these were not entirely his thoughts. He could hear Necros. He could feel the soul inside his own. And he could tell that these things were being told to him. But Harry had to try something.  
  
Something he didn't notice was, that the voice he was hearing, and identifying as Necros,  
  
The voice sounded a lot more like his own as time passed.  
  
That, or his was growing the sound more like the other.  
  
-----  
  
Harry returned. His eyes held what could only be described by Molly as the "Anti-Dumbledorian-Twinkle." Instead of his eyes twinkling with a light, his eyes seemed to have an inner...darkness. But it wasn't darkness...it just seemed like...  
  
She shook the thought out of her head before looking at Harry. He walked into the house, and sat headed up the stairs. Alicia had gone up there after she had spoken to the woman, continuing a discussion she had been having with Hermione. A discussion on something or another concerning Muggle Weaponry.  
  
And she watched Harry ascend the steps, and she sighed.  
  
Something was wrong.  
  
She waked over to the fireplace, and tossed some powder.  
  
"Albus Dumbledore."  
  
-----  
  
Alicia looked as Harry entered the room. She and Hermione had been having a long talk ranging different subjects, but had soon gotten onto the T-I-T (Ron snickered every time they called it this) program. Hermione was looking into the program, trying to find something to do after school. Soon this had become a room-wide discussion. So Harry's entry into the room gained him entry into the conversation. Without his permission or asking.  
  
"So, Harry, what do you want to do when you get out of Hogwarts?"  
  
Harry looked at them. His eyes seemed to be scanning something, they showed he was thinking, weighing ideas. And Ron saw his answer before he said it, and had even tried to stop them from asking Harry the question before. But they did anyways, and Ron flinched at what he knew the answer would be.  
  
"Thinking about becoming a cabana boy. You know, little speedo and a tie, taking rich women's orders and getting requested to their rooms. Sounds fun."  
  
That had not been what Ron expected. He had expected something concerning the boy's mortality. But he watched as Harry smiled hugely before heading over to his trunk for something. Ginny was first to recover from his comment.  
  
"Why not get some practice in now. I am sure none of us in here would stop you if you stripped down and took our drink orders. Or if you came to our rooms upon request." The redhead seemed to be blushing as she said this, embarrassed that she was saying it.  
  
"I would. I would have a huge problem with that!" Ron stated, raising his hand as if they didn't know he was the one who had said that. Ginny just rolled her eyes and hit him in the head with a pillow.  
  
"Oh crap." Harry muttered, as a pillow-fight ensued. He dove, avoiding a pillow to the head before grabbing one of his own and leaping into the fray.  
  
Five minutes later they were all collapsed in a pile of feathers, exhausted and huge smiles on their faces.  
  
And on the floor, surrounded by feathers, they all fell asleep.  
  
-----  
  
"Harry." Necros spoke clearly.  
  
Harry looked to the man, and smiled, shaking his hand as if they were old friends. It was weird that he was so attuned to the man and calmed by him and off guard. However, soon he noticed something. As he looked to the man closely, he noticed a few things.  
  
First thing he noted was, Necros wasn't a day over 20, if that old. He was scarred and war-lived, but far from old.  
  
But as he looked the person who was a part of him over, he realized something with a gasp, and a stumbling back.  
  
Necros, by all appearances, did not look_ like him..._  
  
Necros was him.  
  
-----  
  
Necros smiled at this realization, before suddenly the world they were, in seemed to zip into existence. They were no longer in an indeterminable place, but somewhere specific.  
  
Up in the high tower of a castle, they were in the top room. And there was a cold suddenly. Harry hopped up as Necros rushed to the window. And as he looked out of the window, he realized two things that scared the shit out of him, for lack of any better term.  
  
First, the castle under attack, which was what was happening, was, by all looks, Hogwarts.  
  
And second, and most frightening of all, was what was attacking them.  
  
Miles  
  
And Miles  
  
Of Dementors. A solid sea of them.  
  
He looked to Necros, feeling the pull on his soul. But he looked to the man next to him to feel something. It was a cold. A cold even worse than the one that came from the Dementors.  
  
And he held up his hands. And there was a crackling of an anti-light around each fist, and suddenly two long beams shot up. They had the shape of a sword, but they seemed to be made of nothing more than the anti-light. They warped the world around them in such a way that the very room seemed to be getting the light sucked out of it by the two weapons.  
  
He tossed one to Harry, who saw it flick I the air as soon as it came out of contact with Necros. Harry caught it, and felt the cold go through him, and instead of it going away as he held the sword, it increased. It was almost like it was feeding from him. He looked at it as his hand was surrounded by a force of the anti-light, and it crackled like electricity, stands of it jumping from his hand to the very tip. There was no feeling of holding a handle or even feeling the weapon. He reached up and touched it, and suddenly he felt a darkness. A pain of nothing he had ever felt before, that did not hurt him physically, emotionally or mentally. It jumped straight into the past, becoming a memory of the worst experience in his life.  
  
"Wha..." Harry tried to ask about the weapon.  
  
"These...These, I call DarkLances."  
  
"And what's the point. I mean, there are Dementors out there, don't we need Patronuses?"  
  
Necros got a smirk on his face. It was sickening, a dark look that literally scared the hell out of Harry, as, saying it looked pure evil was a disgusting understatement.  
  
"These...these work better than Patronuses. They do more damage to a Dementor."  
  
"Why, are they made out of pure good memories?"  
  
"No. You see, they do something very frightening to Dementors. Well, frightening for them." Harry looked confused. He didn't think Dementors could be scared. "Yes. You see, they feed on good memories, in increments, and draw out bad ones. Well, these...These are..." Necros seemed to be looking for some way to word it. "They are nightmares made physical."  
  
Harry was going to ask another question when there was a rumble and a shake. They forgot there was a war going on it seemed. A siege.  
  
"So is this some kind of training experience?" Harry asked.  
  
"Umm...About that..." Necros started. "Uh...no, its not. You die here, you die in real life. You lose your soul, you lose your soul." Harry stared. "And try not too, otherwise I die too." And Necros smiled.  
  
Harry recovered enough to hear the screams of people. He headed for the stairs to go fight when he saw Necros climb up in the windowsill of the huge open window. He crouched, and jumped forward, doing a gainer, back- flipping as he jumped forward, before bringing the sword up and falling many, many feel to the ground. And slamming the sword down as he hit the ground, he sliced, literally through a few Dementors, the sword somehow lengthening during the fall.  
  
And then time seemed to stop. And sound disappeared. And then the world around Necros seemed to flash in the anti-light, before it seemed to explode in much way as a tiny atomic-bomb, the force running along the ground before cresting over and up and expanding.  
  
And when the dust all cleared, there was a crater a good 5 feet deep and at the very least 50 feet in diameter.  
  
And every Dementor in the area was gone. Completely.  
  
Harry's jaw fell before he realized he had to go help. Necros was chopping through the Dementors fine and all, but Harry knew he had to do something. He could still hear screaming.  
  
He looked around, and found that the door was there. But as he neared it, he felt the pull, and suddenly the door flew open, and in burst the Dementors.  
  
Harry looked, and then slashed. And he watched the Dementor ghost in half, fluttering away. And he was replaced by another. And another after his partner's demise.  
  
And this was serving to back Harry into a corner. Which was bad. He was fighting against seemingly never-ending enemies, in a closed space.  
  
He looked, and saw an over-hanging strip of cloth, that was apparently used as a kind of decoration. He grabbed it. Pulled it down fast, and used it, and ran along the wall, jumping off so he was out of the corner and more in the middle of the room. And also surrounded.  
  
So, taking a cue from his favorite activity as a kid, he began to spin around, having the sword pointed out and slashing. He cleared out many of the Dark Creatures in this way, making sure to cover his sides, spinning like a mini sword-slashing tornado.  
  
But soon he was dizzy. And he stumbled back, and tried to get away from the advancing Dementors. But walking back.  
  
And he stumbled, and fell right out of the window.  
  
He was falling.  
  
He tumbled over, and soon he was looking up at the ground. He didn't have time to scream, but he threw his arms up in a futile attempt to block his face.  
  
And suddenly he was grabbed on his arm. And he felt the fall go in a parabolic shape, his fall going from a fall to him being sent back up in the air.  
  
He looked, and saw Necros where he would have fallen, and Harry tumbled in the air and landed, glad the man had been there.  
  
Landing, Harry began slashing more and more. He stayed away from the spinning slashes, but did a great deal of 180 spin-slices.  
  
The longer he cut through, the more familiar he became with the weapon. The more he began to fee used to it. The more information he seemed to get from it.  
  
At one point, he felt solid presence behind him. He looked over his shoulder slightly, and there was Necros. The man was behind him. And soon they were slashing away, back to back.  
  
And suddenly he heard Necros' voice. "Do it."  
  
And suddenly Harry felt no one behind him. And he felt energy, going all through him. And he saw a solid line of Dementors standing between him and the castle. And whoever was screaming.  
  
He recognized the scream, but couldn't place it.  
  
He was tired, and his anger flared. And he realized something. The swords were Nightmares in solid form. And Harry's dreams were made of Nightmares. And as he closed his eyes, remembering the nightmares he had had the previous year, the ones that had lead to Sirius' death...  
  
And with a scream, the sword literally flared up as if it was made a fire. And its size grew greatly. Harry put his hands together, and the huge weapon came together into an even larger weapon, larger than Harry himself it seemed, but not, at the same time. It seemed like its size was indefinable. And as he held it, pain flooded into him, skipping his current consciousness and instead jumping into memory, to further fuel the sword.  
  
Raising the weapon far up over his head, Harry brought it down, slamming it into the ground.  
  
And with a shake, and a rumbling in the ground, a solid, jagged wave of the anti-light shot up from the ground. And through the Dementors.  
  
And then it shook and the Dementors disappeared. Completely. But suddenly there was a wave as Dementors surrounded him. The ones in the castle rushed at him. And Harry heard the screaming become more insistent and pained.  
  
And growling angrily, almost feral-like in his annoyance at the enemies around him. He slammed the sword into the ground, his anger so great it was almost like his anger was making him cry.  
  
And the world flashed the anti-light, and with a huge, collective scream, Every single Dementor within the good area that Harry could see seemed to be in pain, screaming, crying, burning.  
  
And then, with a bright flash, the area was empty of the Dark Creature.  
  
And with a feral scream, and then an exhausted sigh, Harry fell unconscious.  
  
And fell back into consciousness.  
  
-----  
  
Harry's eyes cracked open slowly. The room was dark, which was good for him, and he sat up slowly, surveying the room.  
  
He was somehow in the bed. He remembered the pillow-fight, and looked around to find the room devoid of any feathers or evidence of anything happening.  
  
And as he looked around, he looked to find Molly sitting in the room in a chair, apparently asleep.  
  
He looked over to her, and cleared his throat. She hopped up, looking at him. No one else was in the room.  
  
"Where is everyone else?"  
  
"Harry dear!" She hopped up and rushed him, hugging him. Harry patted her softly, wondering why the woman was crying.  
  
"Mrs. Weasley, why are you crying?" He asked. She continued crying. "Mrs. Weasley..." She was still sobbing. "Uh...what's wrong?"  
  
She sat back. "Harry, dear. You...You..."  
  
"I what?"  
  
"You've been in a coma for the last week."  
  
-----  
  
Harry had been checked on for the last hour, and it was annoying him. And he finally shouted out, "I am fine. Give me some space!"  
  
Everyone had been crowding around him, and he needed some of his own space. So, once they were away from him, he sighed and then looked outside. The sun was breaking, and after finding out the day, he knew it was the day they were supposed to be going to Diagon Alley. So he forced the point that he was fine and he needed to go. He had to send the letter to J-Roc through muggle post, and he wanted it to get there at some point before September ended.  
  
So, soon enough they were at Diagon Alley. They walked around, shopping, and, to Harry's complete lack of understanding, not only was Alicia still hanging around them, but Ron opted to follow her and her swaying hips into Madam Malkin's while Harry, Ginny and Hermione headed for Ice Cream.  
  
And as Harry took his first scooping of vanilla ice cream.  
  
And as he looked, a plethora of Death Eaters heading into Diagon Alley, blasting curses.  
  
Harry dropped under the table, dragging Hermione and Ginny with him. And he surveyed the situation. And as he watched, suddenly there was a surge, and suddenly all the wands in the area dropped to the ground. Harry looked in confusion.  
  
"The ministry put...kind of like magical magnets under the streets. In case anything like this happened. Sticks all wands to the ground until a Ministry official undoes it." Hermione explained.  
  
Harry nodded, refusing to ask how she knew. He looked around, and suddenly watched as a Death Eater ran over and put his hand on a panel.  
  
And then watched in horror as the wands became unstuck from the ground.  
  
"Uh...this is going to be so very bad." Ginny sighed.  
  
But, strangely it never got that bad. Because as the Death Eaters made to attack, a mass of Aurors apparated to the scene. And the Death Eaters were outnumbered, and surrounded.  
  
So, they all apparated away.  
  
Harry sighed as the crisis was averted, and then stood up and took a seat. He looked to his ice cream, which he had been craving for some time. And he looked and saw nothing more than floating liquid in the bowl, and the cherry floating on top.  
  
"Damn them..."  
  
-----  
  
Soon enough it was the September 1st, and they were all boarding the Hogwarts Express. Harry sighed, composing his mind, as it came into realization that he had not, in fact, told anyone of his Head Boy duty. He had made to tell Ron at one point, but the boy had began on about something concerning Dementors, which had bothered Harry a great deal.  
  
So, adjusting his robes, and tying back his hair, he wandered into the compartment for Prefects early. But, as he entered, he looked in shock.  
  
The compartment was a common room in of itself, and it was much more comfortable and calm looking than any of the other compartments. He took a seat and pulled out his notebook, which had evolved into a place that he wrote down general feelings. And also a place that he lost himself.  
  
And as he sat there, he suddenly drifted off.  
  
-----  
  
"Harry!" Harry looked up, his eyes flying open. He looked to find Hermione and Ron eyeing him, many people behind them. "Harry...what are you doing here?"  
  
Harry looked around, sitting up and wiping his eyes. He looked around at the people, and then watched as someone bent down and lifted up his notebook, which has fallen on the ground. The female looked to the pages, but not at them. And then she placed it on the arm of the chair before stepping back. And with her blonde hair in the way, Harry had missed who it was. But as she stood up, he saw.  
  
"...Luna?" Harry asked in semi-confusion. She smiled weakly at him, her hair down and fashioned amazingly, with a flower behind her left ear that made her blue eyes stand out. She looked at him up and down for a moment, before smirking, which seemed completely out of character. And suddenly, as if putting on a mask or possibly pulling it off, the far-away look returned to her eyes.  
  
"Harry, answer me?" Hermione persisted.  
  
Harry sighed, and made to answer, when suddenly the train stopped, quickly. And everyone tumbled to the ground, all but Harry. The cold feeling he had felt upon stopping looking at Luna had told him. He was back to focusing on the world, and not a person. And he knew exactly what was going to happen before it did.  
  
And he prayed in his mind that Necros had been right. That he had truly taught Harry of the Anti-Light. Of what surrounds the makings, the inner workings, of the DarkLance.  
  
And he chuckled. A weapon creating a weapon.  
  
But he shook it off and focused. He played around with his wand unconsciously, and because the wand was in his right hand, a crackling sound was heard, and suddenly there was a slight circle of on his left hand.  
  
But he could not concentrate on that, as a blast of magic rocketed past him. He looked up, to find Kevin Porter, a Slytherin 7th year, getting ready to shout another curse at him.  
  
Harry rolled off the side of the couch and shouted out, "Stupefy!" The apparent Death Eater in training slumped unconscious. Harry jogged out of the compartment to the sound of screams. And he watched a sickening sight as a Death Eater used a strengthening charm, and he grabbed a smaller student by the head, and suddenly squeezed, and the skull of whoever he was holding...collapsed.  
  
And Harry stood there for a moment, watching in complete and utter shock.  
  
And then he leapt into action.  
  
-----  
  
_That day would go down in the History of the Second War as the Unspoken War. Not because of silence, but in the entire time on the train, not an unforgivable, or even a remotely Dark spell was uttered.  
  
No, that battle would show exactly how simple curses could be used for frightening things. A Death Eater had cracked a broom in half, before sending it flying towards its owner, effectively sinking itself into the midsection of an eager young 2nd year, wanting to try out for the house team. And most frightening even, was the Body Bind. Well, in truth, it was just a specific binding curse. It went a little something like: Petrificus Cardia.  
  
And with that simple curse, poor little Susan Bones had felt her heart stop completely.  
  
And that would also be the Battle in Second War History that went down as the birth. The birth of Harry "Necros" Potter. The Light Demon. But often called a Dark Angel. But when it became much to cliché for him to be dark, a new name arose. Necros, the Angel of Dusk.  
  
And like a demon, something from hell, with the intent of a guardian angel, he made his way through compartments, blasting Death Eaters, snapping wands, and taking out Dementors with some unseen and unknown force. Working insanely and all too fast, he cleared the compartments. Oddly enough, it was said of his Patronus, that, once sent out, it was made from a Anti- Light like substance, and literally made the Dementors fall to the ground fetal, rocking and mentally broken.  
  
And at some point he had ended up on top of the train. And ended up in a heated battle with one Dolohav Lestrange.  
  
And that day went down in History above all others. Above all others as the day that something unheard of happened. For, you see, the cause of death of the known Death Eater was...awkward at the least.  
  
The man, apparently, died  
  
Of complete fright. Of fear.  
_  
-----  
  
Harry Potter walked off of the Hogwarts Express that day. Walked despite insistence that he be checked on, as the blood coming from his ears had to be far from natural or healthy, and the cut along his spinal cord had been close. Too damned close. A simple summoning charm on a bunch of broken glass with Harry to the side, and a fear-paralyzed 1st year in between the glass and the Death Eater. The child had been too scared to move, and Harry had to literally dive and tackle the girl as the glass shard made to lodge itself in her brain. Her dodging direction had been...unexpected, and unhelpful, as the glass slashed its way directly down his back, parallel to his spinal column.  
  
He was bleeding, but he refused help. At one point, his friends made to try and Stun him in order to get him help. And as he headed for one of the carriages, he watched as he saw a glimpse of a Death Eater mask in one of the carriages headed for the school. Looking to the carriage nearest him, the one that Ron had broken the wheel of with a spell to ensure Harry's lack of immediate escape, he growled.  
  
Blasting the holdings off of one of the Thestrals with a slight Reductor Curse, He hopped on one, chasing after the carriage. And to many, it would have looked odd, seeing him floating in the air like that, but after that day, a sad fact settled over Hogwarts.  
  
There wasn't a student at the school that year that could not have seen the dark horse-like creature Harry rode.  
  
And with his steadied eyes, his long black hair, the torn and even, in some places, singed robes, and the anti-light aura that seemed to warp around him as he rode,  
  
He really did look like some demon.  
  
And Hermione watched him from afar, Ron cursing at his friend's ingenuity and Ginny gazing as Harry seemed to look like he was meant to be just as he was, some kind of twisted, perverted take on one of King Arthur's Knights. But she smiled as Hermione too caught that thought.  
  
Harry Potter, someone else's knight? Never.  
  
And as the light hit his barrier of anti-light directly and the warping increased, and the Anti-light around his hand seemed to form a sword, several people saw it.  
  
There was more to Harry Potter than any of them knew.  
  
-----  
  
Harry caught the carriage as it stopped before the school, hopping off the horse and looking to the door. The person inside refused to come out, so, kicking the door in warning, he slamming it open and ducked to the side, to avoid curses he expected to be coming.  
  
And he heard the scream. The scream from his dream with Necros.  
  
And the he looked in a slumping sound was heard. And there, laying on the floor, unconscious, was Draco Malfoy.  
  
And there, standing over him, with a badge that stated her as a Teacher-in- Training, and with a boot that looked to be her own in her hand, over her head,  
  
Was Heather.  
  
-----  
  
Harry stared at her. His eyes were dark from the anger during his ride, and the sword flickered before disappeared, as well as the Anti-Light around him. The world around him spun back from his survival-and-protection mode into normal viewing, and his mind slowed down.  
  
Why is she here?  
  
_Oh yeah, she lied about not knowing me, and is therefore a witch.  
_  
**Yeah, great.**  
  
_Tell me about it. I mean, she could have only wanted me, cared about me for my name all this time.  
_  
**Whoopty-Fuckin'-Do.  
**  
His mind ran this through before he looked at her and turned, dropping to sit in the doorway of the carriage, dangling his legs. He felt her come over to him, and felt her slide past him and edge down the side of the stairs and then stand in front of him.  
  
"Explain." Where his lone words as he looked at her. He wanted to know what was happening. And after she had told him she wasn't a witch...  
  
"Look Harry, I am here under very strict circumstances. My...subject of choice to involve in in-depth study to become a "teacher" is not exactly...normal. Nor is it very vital at the moment. I mean, Muggle Studies in the middle of a war...Although, I still wonder what the hell a Muggle is..."  
  
And with these words she solidified in Harry's mind that she was not a witch. At least, by English Standards. "So...so why are you here? To learn to teach something you don't know?"  
  
Heather sighed. "Look Harry. Here is what I should have explained to you since the beginning. My grandmother had me in America, because she trained me there. I was trained to be, something akin to a magical security camera. You see, my family excels in very little, generally mediocre or average magic users. But every female has the same general Talent, if you will. Every Magical Creature alive has a Talent, ours is just...generational. We are Soul-Seekers as we were so nicely named by a drunk Irishman." Harry looked completely...confused. "Look, we can read people's souls. Not much, but we have a deep connection to the spiritual plane. But it has to be trained. Generally we can see Evil intent and Good intent in people's souls, and can therefore warn people beforehand. Mainly used as trophy- wives, with a purpose, to Kings and Lords back during Crusades era, my family has had a long trial of training and ability.  
  
"But, soon it became unfashionable. And it fell out of practice. Without training, one does not learn to use the gift. Much like general magic. Me, I was not gifted with typical magic, outside of the occasional Wingarian Mariposa or whatever. So I took it up to begin my training. My mother had...opted to not take up her own."  
  
Harry was finding it good that Heather was letting this all out, but it was bothering him, not knowing why she was there. She noticed this and sighed, speeding forward in her long explanation.  
  
"Basically this damnedable T-i-T program, with its shitty name, is a guise for your good ol' Headmaster to ensure my training completes, as my grandmother died before I could complete the end of my training. And once that is done, I am then to teach any others with the ability, as this year Talent Training has become a mandate in the school, with the apparent approaching war and all."  
  
Harry stood there, looking at her. Heather. _His Heather_, he just told him that, not only was she blessed with slight magical power, but she was also going to be at the school for the foreseeable future. And with their current state of..."broken-up-edness", which had been how J-Roc had describe he and Robin once, Harry knew it would be awkward.  
  
"But why couldn't you tell me?" He asked finally, looking up at her with a look of pleading.  
  
She sighed and walked over to him. She scooped his chin in her hand and made him look at her, as he had taken to staring at the ground. The pain in his back was returning thanks to the loss of adrenaline, and sitting hunched over on steel steps. "Because I wanted it to be even ground. I wanted to go into this with us knowing _each other_, and not who you were supposedly, and not who I was to all of the people in Little Whinging who hate me for no true reason. I wanted to come into this seeing who you are from you, and not some stupid article in those crappy papers that I have seen scattered around the castle for the past few days."  
  
Harry looked up at her. "Was it all a lie?"  
  
And Heather looked at him, seeing this was the last question he needed to ask, and she knew that, by answering truthfully from her heart, there was still hope. "Not a bit of how I felt was close to being a lie." Harry breathed out a sigh of relief. "Except..." he sucked in his breath. "Except for when I told you not to kill Tim. That I didn't want him dead. Because I do. Deeply. His family included. All of them." She said, looking to Draco, who was coming conscious once more.  
  
The girl pulled her shoe back on, before Harry stood. And here Heather surveyed him. And as she saw the cut on his back, and the pain he had as he stood, she sighed. "Just always in a fight, aren't you Potter. Perpetually getting your ass into pain and suffering." She said this light-heartedly, and then walked with Harry into the castle, him heading to the Hospital Wing as Heather herself headed off to wherever she deemed it necessary she disappear to.  
  
"Again Mr. Potter...Term hasn't even bloody started yet!" Madam Pomfrey shouted to no one in particular, as she busied herself heading over for remedies and other things to help Harry out.  
  
-----  
  
"Uh...what do you mean sir." Harry asked as he sat in the office of one Albus Dumbledore. And the man had just dropped a bomb on him.  
  
"It has been as such for years. Promoting inter-house bonding by stationing the Head Boy and Head Girl rooms separate from any particular House. Only, this year, we have needed additional space for our Teacher in Training Program." Dumbledore paused here. "We really must rethink out acronyms, wouldn't you say young Mister Potter?" Harry nodded, concealing a smirk just ever so slightly. "Well, with the additional space, we have turned the area into its open little...house common area. This is normally not a problem, as we would have 17 year old 7th years housed with 18 year old Trainees, some 19, and the oldest, 20. But seeing as you are...undeniably you, certain issues have arisen."  
  
"Such as?" Harry asked, not really wanting the answer.  
  
"Well, first off all, the fact that, not only are you only 16, but we must ensure that you are here at the castle or within the area during all breaks outside of Summer Term, will make it so that...normal restrictions of changing the property can be...bent by you. That room shall be your home for the next 2 years."  
  
Harry eyed the man, understanding that in some way. But he knew the second issue would be worse. And was he ever right.  
  
"But also, Hogwarts has maintained a strict policy on...fraternization. It has only one rule." And here, Harry swallowed audibly. "Don't get caught." Harry eyed the older man in shock. He smiled, popping a Lemon Drop before continuing. "Because the Head Boy and Head girl rooms have no gender restrictions, this gives a bigger weight to the Honor system. Teachers do not make random checks, and any activity that occur there are solely the business of its inhabitants."  
  
"So what happens in my room, stays in my room?" Harry asked as a clarification question. To this Dumbledore nodded. "But why is that at all important enough for you to bring me here?"  
  
"Harry, you do not understand the influence of this situation. Now, you and young Miss Heather have recently...reconciled, have you not?" It was not a question. "Because of this, and the fact that you two will be living in close proximity to each other, I will ask that you exercise discretion and common sense. Heather's...innocence is a very important factor to who she is, and the power she can hold."  
  
Harry made to ask about this, but was cut off as Dumbledore continued. "But that is for later. For now however, I am afraid I have some bad news for you." And here the Headmaster looked solemn. He nodded for the man to begin, and he did.  
  
"The issue of the Quidditch Ban. It was not possible to get it revoked, as its insistence by a High Inquisitor means that a High Inquisition must be held and testimonies must be brought up for the reason, and then a case must be made for its repeal. This would be easy enough, however, seeing as how Ms. Umbridge's departure and subsequent lack of return leaves the instigator of the ban missing, it will be unable to be repealed."  
  
Harry stared at the man. He was saddened by this, but thinking Umbridge got her's was enough to make Harry feel just fine. He smiled brightly, and Dumbledore allowed him to leave.  
  
-----  
  
"Heather, I am afraid that we have hit a road block. One that I figured we would hit, but it has come all too soon." Professor McGonagall stated. She was looked at the girl across from her that she had been training in "Soul- Seeking" as they had called it at one time. It was truly deeper than that, and its true name was Spiritual Comprehension and Projection. And the projection part was where they were trying to get. But said road block had stopped it.  
  
"And what is that Professor?" Heather asked in confusion.  
  
Professor Mcgonagall didn't expect to have _this_ conversation with the girl, but sighed and attempted to be tactful in her explanation. "You see...In order for a Soul-Seeker to be able to work toward the Projection side of the Art, they must be intone with all things in nature, and mainly themselves and their own bodies." Heather was following, but saw no problem. "But you see, in order to realize all of the emotions and nuances and such inside of one's self, one must...uh..." And the woman stumbled over words. Something she prided herself on doing incredibly rarely.  
  
"Just...spit it out. Be blunt." Heather insisted.  
  
The woman sighed, and nodded. "We only have Projection to cover until you are finished with your training. It is not difficult to learn. The problem is...In order to be able to Project, you have to...lose your virginity."  
  
And with those words, the world crashed down on Heather. The girl simply nodded, crushed, confused, and lost.  
  
"What am I going to do..." she asked herself as she left the office.  
  
-----  
  
Harry stumbled toward the Head Common Room as he groaned under the pain his back was giving him. He had been bumped into the wall by a speeding Slytherin, trying to make curfew despite already being 35 minutes late. The girl had careened into Harry, and he had slammed back into the solid stone wall.  
  
"Gonna feel that in the morning." But after 2 steps, he rethought. "Nope. Feeling that now."  
  
Soon he was in the Head Common room. The only one in there was a pretty sandy-blonde girl with bright, expressive gray eyes. She was enraptured in a book, and had her Ravenclaw scarf proudly draped over her shoulders like some kind of honorable sash.  
  
She turned and looked at him, before smiling brightly. "Hi! I'm Isis Zabini!" She had a happy, bubbly personality, and on close inspection, she had freckles across her nose, and dimples in her cheeks.  
  
"I'm Ha..." but she cut him off.  
  
"Harry Potter, I know. Now, what can I do ya' for Mr. Potter?" She asked, bright and shiny still, but the confusion of his entry into her private reading sanctuary was becoming clear.  
  
And Harry caught sight of her Head Girl badge. And at the same time, she saw his. "Really, Head Boy? As a 6th year? That's...astounding. Unheard of. That's just...down-right amazing." She smiled at him, before checking the clock. She made a startled noise. "I am sorry Harry, but I must get to bed so I can have my exact required sleep time, so I can be tip-top for tomorrow." And without a reply she gather her things and headed out and into her room.  
  
Harry sighed and walked into his room, undressing lazily, dropping his clothes to the ground and just crawling into bed.  
  
"This year is going to bloody be...bonkers."  
  
-----  
  
At the depths of the night, Harry's door opened. And for some unknown reason, he had awoke 10 seconds before it had. Enough time for him to get his wand to his hand and be waiting, with it trained on the door.  
  
But as the faint firelight crackled in the common room, and the light cast the person into a silhouette, a form he knew, and would always know, stood there.  
  
Heather.  
  
"What is it..." He muttered. She closed his door, and disappeared for a bit before stepping into the moonlight cast through one of his windows. Her hair was up and she wore a long, button-up shirt, something that looked like it could have fit him,  
  
_dammit, that is my shirt!  
_  
And she looked at him with her eyes, and she locked contact with him. And began to unbutton her shirt. "Harry, I messed up. A lot. And I won't lie and say this is all for you, but I need to..." She stumbled over her words for a moment. And then she finished. "Harry, I have something I would like to give you, and it would honor me very much if you would accept it."  
  
And Harry watched her continue with the buttons, before dropping her hands to her sides, looking at him for confirmation. The shirt was unbuttoned and slightly opened, and showed her skin along where the buttons had been, a teasing sight as he saw, in the reflection of the light on her upper body, the smooth skin.  
  
And Harry looked to her eyes for confirmation. And after watching, he saw it. He saw what he was looking for.  
  
And standing up and walking over to the girl, whose face had fallen to look at the ground and was making to re-button her shirt as she assumed Harry's silence meant denial, he cupped her chin in his hand, and made her look at him, much as she had done to him earlier.  
  
"I would be honored to accept."  
  
And he leaned down and kissed her passionately.  
  
-----  
  
**A/N: Ok, new chapter! Couldn't have my babies split up for too long, and this is an insanely long chapter. I'm talkin' over 10,000 words in this one. I mean...damn that was awkward. 2 chapters in one because I love you all.  
  
And now the storyline begins. I hope you all begin to like Necros, and no, I won't change dear-ol' Harry into some kind of dark person all of a sudden, if at all. But I want to have a look at the two sides of the fence. How "light" magic can be evil, and how "dark" magic can be good. And how Anti-Light is truly a force to be afraid of. Very afraid.  
  
For those who didn't gather, Dolohov was killed by the DarkLance. Harry stabbed him with it. And in a scene I had to take out, He stabbed the man again. And again. And again. And in a semi-psycho display, he literally put every pain and dark memory he had into the weapon, stabbed it into Dolohov's chest, and snapped away, forcing the energy into the man's body, to circulate there.  
  
Ok peeps: I have a new ship I like now. And all thanks to Amora. Story: The Potter Factor. Ship: Harry/Bellatrix. Its fun. Usually, if not always Dark!Harry or Semi-Dark!Harry. And almost always Hot!Bella. Check the story out. Go to and look for it there.  
  
Anyways, I am currently in Monterey, the setting for one of my favorite stories. Its H/Hr, but there is none of that at the moment, and is called Title Pending on Portkey.org. its an amazing story, and I love it a great deal. Monterey is also a place I have been to more times than I have cut my hair in my life. Great scenic place, and the ride down here got me to writing pages 7-17 for a good deal of it.  
  
Running from summer school still, and I GOT MY PERMIT BABY, YEAH!!! So, I have my car, my permit...now all I need is a half-naked chick, 30 bucks worth of junk from AMPM, and I am ready for a...ROAD TRIP!!!  
  
Anyways, White Chicks was fucking hilarious, and I thought it was great. I wanna see Spider-man 2.  
  
Rating Definitely moves up next chapter. Sex is now an issue. Any objects, speak now. Review, e-mail, AIM, speak now, because I need reactions to this. But until then,  
  
"That's it, That's that, That's all there is!" Peacers, TK (Major props if you can tell me where the above part came from. Hint: it's a song.)  
  
The soundtrack to this chapter Includes: -Overnight Celebrity Instrumental: Twista & Kanye West -My December: Linkin Park -Whole Beastie Boys CD "To The 5 Boroughs": Uh...duh. -I Like Dat: Houston ft. Nate Dogg, Chingy and I-20 -(Not Just) Knee Deep: George Clinton and the Funkadelics. (Funk Music is the best music ever created by man. Period. Long as hell too.)  
  
Also listened to: -Killin' 'em Softly: Dave Chappelle Comedy Special (on audio) -Groaning from Kally over the phone. She "misses me". I have been gone for 2 HOURS!! Emotional...I mean, I know I am great and all, but she... ;-) (love ya' babe, don't get mad, k? Just a joke. throws arms up defensively Please don't hit me!) -My uncle snoring in his damned sleep.  
  
Chapter Done at 2:00 am on July 3rd, BTW (Free Comic Day!)**


	16. Chapter 16: Caliburn

**_A/N: now...I could go into a fairly non-detailed sex scene, describing oh-so- vaguely what happens, and praying doesn't give my ass the boot... Or, I could not. I could give clues, and simply put up the detailed and described ::cough::NC17::cough:: sex scenes in another place, like, say, And I could call this story...SoH: Deleted Scenes. And Then I could not worry about and its temperamental ass showing me the door by way of their shoe.  
  
And which idea sounds best?  
  
I dunno...lemme know. But for now, we shall skip the Harry/Heather (does this pairing deserve the acronym H/Hr more than Harry/Hermione? Wouldn't that me H/He?) scene.  
  
Speaking of which, this part has been added after the chapter was finished. I have a question, well, more of a problem. I don't think, at any time, did I promise any level of Harry/Hermione above friendship. Therefore, all the people who said I am a liar and they want Heather picked off for Hermione...there are hundreds, thousands of Harry/Hermione stories.  
  
This, frankly, will not be one of them. I have ideas planned, I have things that are meant to happen, and I am sorry if you feel the need to see Harry with Hermione in this story with Heather kicked to the proverbial curb. Its not gonna happen. Sorry, boo hoo, cry cry. I love you all and thank you for reading, but you must let yourself get out of the bindings of main ship preferences. I used to be H/Hr shipper, and wouldn't read anything else. But you see, you can't live life that way.  
  
You'll only end up disappointed.  
  
Harry is happy at the moment, and romance is, by no means, the main issue in this story. So...if you are saddened and thinking of complaining to me about the ship, please, get over it. I assure you, it won't change unless I find a perfectly good reason to. If you think you can provide this, feel free. But remember, this is someone who started off H/Hr shipping, and the explanation of "being friends for longer" will not work. I have said it myself. And I also know, friends aren't always the best people to get in a lasting relationship with.  
  
On with the story!_**

**__**

**_P.S. This Chapter is dedicated to my AIM, YIM and MSN family. You all put my punk ass in gear and helped me out of a slump of depression that was using me like a hacky-sack. Ashley, baby, when I get a place with less insane people living here, sure you can move in. And thanks, and I will let you beta next chapter. Promise._**

**__**  
-----  
  
Harry's eyes began to drift, as he felt Heather on top of him. They were both exhausted, but had settled into a game of who could stay awake the longest. And even as his eyelids began to give under the weight, he could feel her breathing having slowed way down, and he knew he had won.  
  
But it was an empty victory to a pointless game. As their eyes locked, her pale hazel ones to his deep emerald ones, they smiled. And she snuggled her head into the crook of his neck, running her hand over his heart. He wrapped his arms around her, running his hand along the small of her back, and then they both drifted off to sleep.  
  
-----  
  
"Necros."  
  
"Good morning." Harry replied. And as he did, he recognized the flaw in this. He had answered to the name Necros. And even more importantly, in the land he knew was created by his dreams, there was something new that he didn't recognize.  
  
The voice that had called him.  
  
He looked up to see a figure very different from the one he had gotten so used to seeing in his dreams.  
  
Pale, very pale skin was overlaid by white robes over a thin frame. The person sat in a cross-legged position, with a long staff with a diamond set into the top sitting across its lap. The staff was made out of a very pale wood, intertwined with white wood of some kind.  
  
And as Harry watched the clearly male form, whose head was down, it seemed to have a body-language telling of a smirk.  
  
"Yes Necros...I know it is you. You deep within, attached to the soul of this one before us." And the figure started to stand, head still down. And sticking the staff onto the ground next to him, he used it to stand upright. He was fairly short, to a sense, but not so short he was abnormally so.  
  
He was shockingly pale and fragile-looking, with his veins showing through his skin and his bones visible in his long fingers.  
  
Harry...or Necros as he was being called, peered at the form before him. And with a sharp movement, its head was up and the staff was pointed gem-first at Harry, the gem radiating a pure white light. And somehow, without him knowing how or why, the Anti-Light had surrounded his hand, and the sword materialized, and it was pointed at the figure's neck.  
  
"Who! The Fuck! Are You!" Harry demanded. He was angry and very much against someone pulling a weapon on him for no reason. And then his eyes locked with the figure before him. His eyes were green, a bright green. Glowing with emerald light, literally leaking with the color.  
  
It was a demonic-look in a way, as the pale skin seemed to reflect the bright eyes. He looked at Harry, and lowered the staff slowly. And he spoke in a silky voice that seemed to leak power, but also arrogance. "What is the matter Necros...Can't seem to remember your own brother?"  
  
Harry kept hearing a name echoing in the back of his mind, but he ignored it, as the reference to him as Necros was getting annoying, as was the pale person before him dodging the question. "I am not Necros! I am Harry Potter. And who in the bloody hell are you!"  
  
The figure inclined an eyebrow at Harry, and then nodded. "I see..." And it took to walking from Harry, looking over his shoulder as he returned to the pedestal that he sat on. "I...You can call me Caliburn. And you, Mr. Potter, you will be the one with the duty to find me." And with those words, he sat, placing the staff back across his lap as he sat on the pedestal. And with a glowing of golden light, there was a flash from him. Harry looked, and for a fleeting second he thought he saw what looked to be some kind of sword, and then there was nothing.  
  
-----  
  
Harry's eyes flew open. He closed them and laid his head back as he realized he was not dreaming anymore. He sighed before he opened his eyes once more and glanced around him. He was still laying in his bed, with Heather on top of him, her hair splayed out around her and all over his chest. The sheet had come off of her upper body and she was shivering some in her sleep. He slipped his hand down her back, down to the small of her back. He looked to see the sun beginning to rise outside of the window. It was time for them to get up, and he began to think of ways to get her up. Deciding on one, he slipped his hand down some more, and laid a light but sound slap to her rump.  
  
"Time to get up."  
  
The girl jumped in her shock, before looking to him, scowling. She smiled, leaning up and kissing him soundly before shifting her legs so they were on either side of him, and then she sat up, effectively sitting up and straddling his prostrate body.  
  
Harry's eyes explored her upper-body, slipping his hands up the sides of her body, grabbing onto either side of her waist. The girl made exaggerate motions of stretching before locking eyes with him. And she caught the smirk on his face, before he rolled and she found herself under him, with her legs wrapped around him. And as he started in to kiss her, she put her hand up, stopping him from getting to close to her. He persisted, and eventually she put her hand on his face and pushed him back.  
  
He rolled back, sitting in front of her, and gave her a questioning look. "Look Harry. I want to make sure you understand what happened last night." He was going to speak, but she stopped him. "Look, I wanted to do that with you, truthfully. I got incentive with my timing from Professor McGonagall."  
  
"Uh...so you are telling me McGonagall in the reason you came in here last night...?" Harry was confused by this. He hadn't thought his Head of House would be one to interfere in student's love lives, nonetheless inspire someone to go off and have sex.  
  
"Let me explain this." She breathed in to compose herself, and closed her eyes and didn't look at him and she spoke. "Look, the main thing is, the incentive was that I could not move on in, as she calls it, 'Spiritual Comprehension and Projection', or more the Projection of it, until I, basically, wasn't a virgin anymore." She looked at Harry, expecting some kind of blow-up. But with the weird dream he had, and the fact that he had already had to be apart from the girl in front of him for the two weeks over something so stupid, he wasn't intending to let something be put between them again.  
  
"So." Was his simple answer, and Heather was given no chance to comprehend that before he tackled her back and began kissing her again. And as she rolled over, getting on top of him again and pulling the covers up over them, Harry's door opened. And in walked Hermione, flanked by Ron and Ginny.  
  
"Harry, we came by to get you so..." and Hermione trailed off as the sheet came back and two heads appeared. Hermione stopped her entrance to the room, Ron bumping into the back of her, and Ginny did the same. Ron looked to Hermione for a reason to the stop, while Ginny inched around him to make her way in the room.  
  
And with a look at them all, and a scrambling for clothing, the two in the bed both fell off the sides, one falling to each side of the bed.  
  
And as fate would have it, with there being 3 girls and 2 guys in the room, the sheet's direction would follow the ratio, leaving it falling to one side.  
  
Heather's side.  
  
So Harry fell off the side of the bed, naked. He was glad that he wasn't visible immediately, but he hopped up, out of instinct from falling. And looking around, he cursed the fact that he was on the side of the bed that he didn't get in on, leaving his clothing away from him. Leaving only one thing remotely able to cover his..."naughty bits" as Tonks would call them. And that was the bass guitar the House Elves had placed on that side of his bed.  
  
So, grabbing it and standing, he held it, it was in such a way that he was able to slip the strap over his shoulder, and let the guitar hang on the strap, covering his waist area with the guitar body.  
  
This, however, still left him a lot less clothed that Heather, who had adopted a sky-blue toga-like fashion from the sheet, and way less clothed than the 3 who had invaded his personal space and left him in that predicament.  
  
"Can I bloody help you?" Harry said through gritted teeth as he held the guitar to him, looking dead at the 3 people who had entered his room. From Ron's gaping from Heather to Harry as if in disbelief, to Hermione's rightful embarrassed look, to Ginny's simple full-bodied blush.  
  
Everyone was at a loss for words, and Heather glanced to Harry. She smirked cruelly and padded over to Hermione, whispering something in the girl's ear. Hermione adopted a similar smirk, nodded and they turned for a moment. Harry missed too much of this, as he was glancing around, looking for some article of clothing near him that he could get to without...exposing himself to the room, as Ginny seemed in too much shock to move, and Ron had simply exited the room.  
  
"Harry!" and the boy turned to Heather calling his name, only to see a bright flash. And as his eyes cleared from the bright flash, he groaned as he saw Hermione holding a camera. He screamed in indignation before swinging his hand out, extending some of the Anti-Light so that it wrapped around his wand. It flew into his hand, and then he summoned some pants. He looked to the two conspiring girls, who gulped, and took off running. Ginny was intending to stay but was dragged from the room by a hand Harry recognized as Ron's. He told himself to remember to thank his friend before yanking his pants on, grabbing a T-shirt and pulling it on and running out of the room.  
  
And as he got out into the hallway, he saw the trail of his sheet along the ground turning to corner one way, and Hermione's bushy hair turning the corner in the opposite direction. He groaned before turning and heading back to his room, plopping down on his bed, looking for something to wear that day.  
  
-----  
  
Harry headed down, dressed in jeans and a button-up shirt, which was unbuttoned for no reason at all, with his robes draped over. It was odd attire for the Head Boy, but he didn't care. He slapped the pin on his robes absent-mindedly before slinging his backpack over one shoulder and headed out for the Great Hall.  
  
He was a few minutes late, and as he entered, he looked around. There he saw a prime spot saved next to Hermione and across from Ron. He walked over, taking a seat. He looked to his side to see Heather sitting there, looking at him with a smile on her face. Harry rolled his eyes and made to get some food. But he watched as Heather started to put the food on his plate. And Hermione handled the food out of the other girl's reach.  
  
Harry stared at Heather, and just watched as she not only loaded his plate with food, somehow everything he wanted. And then the breaker was, she lifted his fork, speared some of the breakfast potatoes, blew on them to cool them, and then raised the fork to his lips.  
  
Too stunned to do anything but open his mouth, she placed the food in and the she placed her hand under his jaw, pushing it up and then slipping the fork out.  
  
"Gonna chew for him too?" Came Ron's mocking voice as he joked good- naturedly. Heather made a patronizing face, blowing a raspberry at the boy before turning back to her plate, still holding the fork she fed Harry with, she simply speared some of her own potatoes, ate some quickly before turning back to Harry. He was gawking at her.  
  
"Uh...Heather...babe..." He paused and locked eyes with her. "What, in the bloody hell is up with you?" He smiled at her, to show it was all in fun and he wasn't mad. But then another voice jumped into the conversation.  
  
"Yeah, who are you and why are you feeding him like he is some kind of baby or something?" They all turned and looked behind Harry, Heather and Hermione, which seemed to have been an odd occurrence in their seating arrangement, and looked to who had spoken.  
  
"And you are...?" Heather asked, clearly unimpressed by the girl she saw. Harry put his face in his hands and groaned, and Hermione turned all the way around to face the girl fully, doing something completely un-Hermione and rolled her eyes.  
  
"I, whoever you are, am Cho Chang. Harry's girlfriend."  
  
"Ex-Girlfriend." Hermione stressed, eyeing the Ravenclaw incredulously at her audacity.  
  
"Shut it Granger. This is between me and the bitch right there who is disturbing my boyfriend." Cho said venomously. Hermione gasped, knowing what would become of the cocky, short Asian girl calling Heather a bitch. Physical pain was in Cho's future, and even Hermione, who adamantly denied Divination, foresaw this.  
  
"15 points from Ravenclaw for inappropriate language, and an additional 5 for insubordination and disrespect." Harry muttered, his face still buried.  
  
"Oh, I heard about you, Chang." Heather said, standing. She looked down on Cho, who was pushing 5 feet at the most, and while only a few inches at the most taller, Heather also had the look that Hermione had seen many a time. It could unnerve someone who had just met the girl, making her seem fairly mean. "Apparently you broke up with Harry here to go see some prick named Corner. So, according to my rule-book, he is free market, or was."  
  
"Was?"  
  
"Yes. Was. Before me, I am sure he was free for some time, but...I'm here now."  
  
"And you are?" Cho asked, swallowing the slight fear that was fighting to be freed from deep in her.  
  
"Me? I'm Heather." She said with a bright, mocking smile before she took a seat on the bench. Harry had been straddling the bench as the girl had begun feeding him, and Heather took a seat, matching his seating style and pressing back into his front. "Harry's girlfriend." Cho looked like someone had slapped her in the face. "So, if you don't mind," she snuggled into Harry, and he slipped his arms around her, seeing the effect it was having on Cho.  
  
He even took it further and began to kiss her neck softly, which caused Heather to pause in her speech to moan slightly. Regaining her composure, she continued. "So, if you don't mind, please take your scrawny ass back over to your table, sit the fuck down, eat something, and get away from me before you wind up picking eggs out of your nose." And with those words, Heather wiggled back into Harry, and he looked to Cho. The girl was shaking in anger, and quickly, she had yanked out her wand.  
  
However, nothing ever came of Cho's attempt to curse Heather, as Hermione had been quicker to yank out her wand, and Cho slumped to the ground, unconscious. Hermione smiled, twirling her wand in her hand before slipping it back into her robe in some kind of western-like display before straightening her robe, dusting off her hands, and turning back around to her food.  
  
Harry watched her as he and Heather turned back to sitting the normal way, before he started laughing. He was laughing hard. And as he laughed, with his eyes closed, he suddenly had eggs in his mouth. His eyes flew open as Heather's hand covered his mouth, holding the eggs she had just deposited in there, in. "Shut it and eat, Potter."  
  
Harry's eyes got big, and he grabbed a biscuit to launch, intending to bounce it off of her head. However, Ron asked him a question. "Harry, what was that about points that you muttered..." And then he saw the badge. "Blimey Harry, Head Boy? As a 6th year?"  
  
Hermione looked and saw the badge, before putting on the face she usually adopted when she was thinking. "Well, its not impossible or anything..."  
  
And as she thought about this, re-reading Hogwarts: A History in her mind, the schedules got passed out. Harry took his and glanced at it, finding he had...  
  
"Yes, it's a fact now. It's a fact that I am despised by Heaven, Hell, Earth, and everything between." Hermione looked at him in confusion, knocked out of her concentration by this declaration. She looked to his schedule and chuckled before it turned into a full-blown laugh, pointing included. "Not funny, Hermione." He commented simply, but the girl was still laughing. "Not one bloody bit."  
  
"What?" Ron asked, wanting to see so he could join in on the pointing and laughter at his friend.  
  
"Snape, first thing in the morning on Mondays and last class on Fridays." And this set off a chain reaction as Ron began laughing incredibly hard. So hard, in fact, that he fell off the back of the bench and landed on his back, staring up to the ceiling of the Great Hall. And he was still laughing. Only now everyone was laughing as well.  
  
And abruptly his laughter stopped. "Hello Ronald." And Ron was looking up from the ground as "Loony" Luna Lovegood stood above him, peering down every-so serenely. Ron groaned inwardly, standing up. But as he looked at Luna, he stumbled back slightly, gawking at her.  
  
She had her hair styled once more, framing her face, which had lost some of its fat in certain areas. The old Luna was still visible, especially in her eyes, which still seemed to have that "not-quite-there" look to them. Her lips shone, and her head was not covered in some odd hat. She was missing the bottle-cap necklace, instead graced with a simple gold necklace.  
  
And as Ron gazed at her, he made to speak before he started to fumble over his words. Finally he got something out. "Uh...Hi Loony, I mean Luna! Hi Luna!"  
  
Ginny tried hard to hide her laughter, as did Hermione. Harry was occupied with eating, and Heather knew nothing of the situation between the two, and, therefore saw no comedy in it.  
  
And as the confrontation was about to begin, Harry suddenly seized up. His body locked. His fork was halfway to his mouth, loaded with eggs, and it stopped its ascent as his body stopped.  
  
_Necros...  
_  
Harry stopped, listening to the voice he was hearing.  
  
_Necros...You must find me..._  
  
Harry dropped the fork. All words and sound in the Great Hall dimmed out, and all that was left was the voice he was hearing.  
  
_It is your destiny...You must...soon...before it is too late...  
_  
Harry groaned, his mind running on high gear as the words invaded his mind. He could tell no one else was hearing what he was.  
  
_NOW!!!_  
  
The scream jolted Harry, and the sound returned full-blast to the room. Hermione had been watching Harry, as had Heather and, unknown to all of them, so had McGonagall.  
  
Spiritual Comprehension allowed a slight view into the Spiritual Aura of a person. It showed their soul, how it was leaning in terms of siding in light and darkness, along with many other things. And something that had always worried McGonagall was the soul attached to Harry's. Before, observing Harry's Spiritual Aura showed a pure soul, slightly scarred by pain and past experiences, but still mostly pure. And attached to the side of his soul was another. This one was not pure, and not tainted. Just...there. It seemed to not be a color at all, and was warping in itself. But for the most part, it was not in any contact with Harry's, outside of being connected to it.  
  
But over that one summer, somehow the dam between the two had started to crack. And as she looked at him, looking into him, she saw something. The dam that had been there was gone. Long gone. And Harry's soul was as much the Other as the Other was Harry.  
  
But as Harry had locked up, she had watched as bits of...something...surfaced. Flashes of it appeared. It seemed almost pure, but instead of a white color, it was gold.  
  
And it disturbed her more than the anti-light she had seen.  
  
McGonagall turned to Dumbledore, to find the man looking at her. He looked at her with his eyes lacking the twinkle, and he nodded. "I know Minerva. I know. Something is happening, something is calling from within the Castle. I can feel it. But I can not understand it. I feel that Young Mr. Potter, however, can."  
  
Minerva was quiet for some time. "Albus, what is happening to him? What is going on?"  
  
Albus popped a lemon drop and looked forward, surveying the Hall before his eyes locked on Harry. "Do you know some of the students are calling him Necros?"  
  
"Necros, sir?"  
  
"Yes Minerva, Necros. Young Mr. Creevey was the one who began it oddly. It would seem to be a name pulled out of nowhere, would it not?" Minerva nodded. "Try connecting with Harry's soul once more. And try to actually contact it."  
  
"Contact his soul sir? A soul is often unable to be contacted through Projection as long as it is alive and connected to a person or object. They are not conscious when connected to something living. They aren't sentient..."  
  
"That would be true, were it not for the fact that, as we all know, Mr. Potter does not exactly make it a point to enforce common beliefs."  
  
And Minerva locked her eyes on Harry, staring at him, training her mind. And slowly she saw his Spiritual Aura, or his Soul. And she reached out through her Projection, and tried to touch it. And she felt a cold. A harsh cold.  
  
"Who are you..."  
  
"I am Necros..."  
  
-----  
  
Harry shook as the cold shivered along his spine. He turned to Heather as he came out of his trance that he had entered as the voice spoke to him. "Are you considered crazy when you start hearing voices that no one else can hear?"  
  
Heather stared at him for a moment. And then cocked her head to the side. She reached up and placed her hand on his forehead, checking his temperature apparently. She looked at him sympathetically.  
  
"Baby, you have always been crazy."  
  
"Yeah, that explains how I ended up with you..." Seeing her eyes narrow and his plate now no longer appetizing, Harry hopped up from the bench and grabbed his bag. Heather growled and ran after him as he ran toward the direction of the dungeons.  
  
Catching him near the class, she grabbed him and forcibly slammed him into a broom closet. She slammed the door closed and then proceeded to slam him against the wall. "Crazy am I?"  
  
She slammed her lips onto his, wrapping her arms around his neck. Harry slipped his arms around her back. After pulling back, he smiled cheekily. "Yep."  
  
Heather looked at him, gazing at him for some time. It began to unnerve Harry some, as she looked at him. And then she said something completely unexpected in the setting of what would look to be a naughty tryst in a broom closet. "Only for you." And she snuggled into his chest for a moment. And then the predatory Heather was back. Harry had made to stand up straight to head back to class only to be slammed back against the wall. And then her lips were back on his.  
  
And as she kissed him more and more, he heard the bell signaling the beginning of his first class of the year. And as he made to stand to get to class, she slammed him back against the wall. He wasn't intending to fight her, but as she did that, clasping her hands behind his neck, he realized how freakishly strong Heather was as she held him. Not strong enough that he couldn't get away, but he knew the shelf poking him in his back would leave a slight bruise if she kept holding him there.  
  
10 minutes later, Harry walked into NEWTs Potions. His hair was completely disheveled, out of its tie and wild as ever. His eyes were glazed slightly, and there was a dark bruise on his neck that he seemed to be trying to hide with his shirt collar upturned, looking like a post-modern vampire, as he tried to remember a charm to hide or heal it.  
  
He looked around, looking to Snape, who sneered. "Nice of you to join us Potter. 10 points from Gryffindor for your tardiness. Harry ignored him, glancing around the room to look for an empty space. He saw none, only finding a space near the back of the class next to a sandy-blonde girl who looked slightly familiar, with a Slytherin scarf draped over her shoulder. He went over taking a seat next to her.  
  
She looked at him with somewhat of a sneer, before catching sight of his little "love-mark" that Heather had left on his neck. She sighed. "Look Potter. Snape sees that, you're screwed. I know a charm that can at the very least hide it for a good 2 hours."  
  
Harry looked at her, and as he looked at her, it clicked. She looked like the Head Girl...Isis. Isis Zabini...Blaise! That was her name. "So, will you be telling me the charm so I don't end up knee-deep in potions ingredients in detention?"  
  
Blaise looked thoughtful for a moment. "Uh...no." And she finished, her answer final.  
  
"Oh come on Zabini." He groaned, angered by her taunting and teasing of him. She had dangled the carrot, and he had gone for it, only to find it perpetually out of his reach.  
  
"And why should I? I mean, what will I be getting for helping you."  
  
Harry groaned and thought about it for a moment, before suddenly a thought came to mind. "So you aren't going to tell me the charm to hide it?" Blaise shook her head. "Then I will just have to tell Snape you are responsible if he asks."  
  
Blaise looked at him, dumbfounded by his response. And as she locked eyes with him, she saw no sign that he was kidding either. She kept watching him, and he soon turned and pulled out his Potions book and ingredients and began work. Snape was making his way toward their part of the classroom, and was sure to notice the mark sooner or later. Blaise growled, pulled out her wand and pointed it at the offending mark and muttered the charm before putting her wand back and pulling her things out as well.  
  
"Atta girl." Harry mocked, patting her shoulder. And as he put his hand back, he was soon looking at her wand, which was pointed directly at him.  
  
"Hands off, Potter."  
  
Harry made a "tsk tsk" sound with his teeth and looked down, and Blaise found his wand pointing at her stomach, beneath the cover of the table. And her wand was in plain view of everyone. Including Snape, who had turned from his place at the table in front of theirs at Blaise's outburst.  
  
Snape thought to take points from Gryffindor for offending a Slytherin, and touching a superior, but his eyes fell on the Head Boy badge Harry wore, and no matter how much Snape hated that the boy had it, it demanded respect, as Harry could just give the points back to himself, and take more fro his own house should he feel inclined to. And Snape saw no reason to set the boy off on some kind of House Point Addition Spree for Gryffindor. He could just hear it in his head.  
  
_"5 points to Gryffindor for breathing. Good job Hermione!"  
_  
Snape groaned at the idea. And did the only thing he could do to not have the end result of the year be Slytherin with Negative House Points.  
  
"10 points from Slytherin and a detention. Ms. Zabini, please put the wand away." He stated before turning and continuing to assist 2 Ravenclaw students with their cutting of the ingredients.  
  
Everyone in the class who was either a Gryffindor or a Slytherin was gaping. They didn't understand in the least bit what had just occurred. Snape had taken points from Slytherin?  
  
"Well, looks like Satan skied to work today..." Harry muttered before grabbing his knife and beginning to cut.  
  
-----  
  
Harry was heading to his next class when suddenly pain jolted through him. And soon, the darkness swirled around him, and he began to black out.  
  
As he looked around, he knew where he was. He looked over to Necros, who looked completely...nervous. And that scared Harry. If Necros was nervous, then Harry himself should have been shaking in his boots.  
  
"Uh...Necros..."  
  
Necros turned to look at Harry and breathed deeply. "Something is coming Harry. Something big, and something that I have been waiting for...for forever. And...I don't know how this is going to work."  
  
And Necros went back to looking out the window. They were on the bottom floor of the castle, and therefore would not be jumping from towers or windows. Which was a plus in Harry's book.  
  
"What are we up against this time?"  
  
Necros sighed slowly. "A few hundred Dementors." Harry scoffed at that. After the last huge war, that wasn't even an hour's work. "And then the Lord Dementor."  
  
"Huh?"  
  
"The Lord Dementor. The only Dementor able to not only withstand a Patronus, but also able to store souls it sucks out so it can survive longer without feeding than the others."  
  
"Wow."  
  
"Yes, and within that bastard is a soul that is important to me." Necros muttered. And then before any other words could be said, there was the cold again. And Harry forced the Nightmare Energy, the Anti-Light out of him and into the shape of a weapon in his hand.  
  
And kicking the doors open, Harry and Necros charged into battle.  
  
Harry has been wrong. It was not an hour's work.  
  
As they slashed through the Dementors, there were moments when Harry or Necros would stumble under the cold of the Dementors, which was a new feeling for them both. But even despite that, soon they were down to only 3 Dementors left. And as they slashed them down, there was a cold. A sickening cold.  
  
And they both turned. And there stood a Dementor. But this one was far different from the other ones. It was much larger, and from its dark robes, a silvery glow seemed to emanate along its lining, giving it an appearance of being surreal and not truly in existence.  
  
Harry and Necros bumped into each other and looked at the huge form in front of them. It was easily a good 12 feet tall or so, and as it lunged toward them, Harry rolled away, taking position behind the creature. But it seemed Necros had fallen to his knees, grabbing his head in pain. And that put him right in the passage of the creature.  
  
And Harry watched as Necros' soul began to be pulled from him. And Harry began to feel a sharp pain in himself, shaking him and spreading cold through every nerve in his body.  
  
Harry growled angrily as he watched Necros slump to the ground. The DarkLance on Harry's hand flickered slowly, flashing as if going in and out of existence. And with a scream, Harry jumped and slashed with what was left of his fading DarkLance.  
  
And with a solid cut, the head of the Dementor split open and the large creature howled before it started to become frail and then blew away in the wind.  
  
Harry looked down at Necros' body sadly, when all of a sudden the DarkLance flared up on his hand. And with a sharp intake of breath, Necros' eyes flew open. He started hyperventilating as he rolled over to a kneeling position. And with a wretch, Necros lost whatever lunch he had, vomiting on the ground.  
  
"Nice one..." Remarked a voice. Both Harry and Necros turned and looked, and there stood a white, ghostly form. It held a long staff and began approaching them.  
  
And as Harry looked at it, it seemed to solidify more and more as it got closer to them. And before his stood Caliburn. And with a smile on his pale face, he spoke.  
  
"You found me."  
  
And promptly upon those words, Harry slumped to the ground in a dead faint.  
  
-----  
  
Harry awoke a bit later reclined against the wall near the dungeons he had just left. He shook his head and looked up, to see Heather sitting next to him, holding his hand. She seemed to jump as he awoke, and looked over to him. She smiled lightly before standing. She helped to pull Harry up, but instead he stood and pulled her to him, so she was up against him as he kissed her, between her and the wall.  
  
"So, Potter snogging in the corridors instead of being in class. I'd shake my head in disgust, but...I don't feel like it." Harry groaned as he heard the sneering voice. He slipped his hand into his robes to draw out his wand only to feel Heather's hand already there, grabbing for it. And she brought it out and leveled it off at him.  
  
Draco placed his hands up in surrender. "Hey, hey now...you do _not_ want to do that. It wouldn't be in your best interest to kill the messenger."  
  
"Spill it, Slime." She almost growled, as Harry took the wand from her cautiously.  
  
"Yes Potter, do take that from her before she goes and does something insanely stupid with it. But, of course, if we are speaking on stupidity, perhaps you might want to give me with wand..." With the wand once more trained on him, this time by its rightful owner, Malfoy nodded and continued. "Well, I just wanted to inform the wench, I mean Heather dearest here,"  
  
Harry growled. "You are pushing it, Ferret."  
  
"Just wanted to inform her that my dear old cousin has a hankering for her, and wishes to 'partake in her nubile young flesh', as he said, and 'lavish himself in the precious glories of her maidenhood'. Now, mind you, these are his words, not mine..."  
  
But there was a smirk on Draco's face that showed the fun he was having in delivering this "message". And it stayed there even after he was unconscious, as Harry muttered a Stunner before turning to Heather. He smirked, and pulled a muggle pen from his pocket, something he had taken to carrying with him. He conjured some paper and wrote Draco a note telling him exactly what to tell his cousin concerning Heather's "maidenhood'. He stuck the note in Draco's pocket before turning to Heather.  
  
But he saw a grin on her face that unnerved him. He gave her a look, and she smiled sweetly at him. "Run along, I have something to do with Drakie- poo here..." Harry eyed her, but turned to go as she walked by him, taking the pen from his hand.  
  
Harry walked away to the slight chuckling coming from the girl. She came down the hallway with a sick grin on her face. She walked by Harry and handed him the pen. He dropped it immediately, with mutters of "Eww!" She smiled and pushed him back against the wall. "Now, where were we?" And she made to kiss him again, when the bell for lunch sounded.  
  
Harry glanced to his schedule as they headed to the Great Hall, wondering why no one had come to look for him. And as he looked, he saw something he didn't notice before. After Snape's class he had a free period, and then lunch. For that matter, he only had a few classes a day, and his free periods nearly equaled his class periods for that year.  
  
It made his eyes go wide at the possibilities of the time usage, but as he looked at his schedule, the period after lunch that had been Care for Magical Creatures shimmered before reading "We Must Talk, -AD". Harry looked at the paper for a moment, and Heather glanced and took the time to mock him as they entered the Hall.  
  
"Owww...widdle Potter's in twouble..." A scowl was all she got as they entered the Great Hall.  
  
-----  
  
Harry once again took his place between the two girls in his life, Heather on one side, and Hermione on the other, her nose in a book as she tried to eat and read at the same time.  
  
"Uh...Hermione..."  
  
"Shut it Ron." Was her only response, not even looking up.  
  
"Hermione..."  
  
"Ginny, dear, shut up."  
  
There was silence for a moment as everyone wondered what was going on in the mind of the bookworm before them. Everyone locked eyes, trying to find out what was wrong with her. That, and inform her that she was missing her plate with her blind stabs of her fork and was, instead, eating directly out of the serving bowl of the salad.  
  
"Uh, Hermione?" Harry started. And got an interesting response. Hermione not only didn't snap at him, she placed a bookmark in her page and looked up to him.  
  
"Yes Harry?"  
  
Ron looked stunned, Ginny looked confused, and Harry just stared. He shook himself before pointing to the girl's fork, which was stabbed right into one of the chicken pieces in the salad. She gasped before blushing slightly and returning her fork to her plate and closing her book and setting it down.  
  
Ron opened his mouth to tell Hermione something, when she turned to Harry and looked at him, beginning to talk. "You know something Harry, it was very weird today in Snape's class, that he took away points from Slytherin and gave Zabini a detention. You were sitting next to her, what happened between you two."  
  
Harry contemplated an answer before retelling the entire experience, blushing profusely as he told his friend, and half the table, of his and Heather's activities. But as he began to speak again, a voice interrupted him, and once more they all turned to an unwanted visitor to their side of the table.  
  
"Heather. What are you doing exactly sitting here fraternizing with the students as if you were one of them? Come, sit with the rest of us Teachers in Training and stop demoting yourself to these standards."  
  
Harry cocked an eyebrow at the cocky sandy-blonde boy in front of him. Heather had stood up to Cho, and Harry would be damned if he was outdone, or mocked and insulted in an indirect way. "And you are..."  
  
"Roger Davies. And who are you?"  
  
Harry scowled at the form in front of him. "Harry Potter." Roger looked for a second, not believing this at first glance. But then he seemed to ignore Harry's presence and spoke to Heather again. Or attempted to.  
  
"Look, Roger. Heather is sitting here because this is where she belongs. With her friends, and with her boyfriend. She is not lowering anything but perhaps her standards by speaking to you." Ron muttered through feeding his face. Harry gaped at his friend and his insightful words, and the dark look on Roger's face.  
  
"Look Heather,"  
  
"No, you look Roger. Just because we are T-i-Ts doesn't mean you have to be a damned boob about things. I am sitting here with my boyfriend, Harry, with Hermione, Ron and the rest of these insane Gryffindors that have taken me in so quickly."  
  
Roger was going to speak when there was an eruption of laughter throughout the Hall. Everyone turned to the doorway, and there stood Draco Malfoy, wondering what everyone was looking at.  
  
"Well, looks like they have seen my handy-work." Heather smirked.  
  
"Dear lord woman, what did you do?" Harry groaned, glancing at his girlfriend, and then to Draco.  
  
He watched as Draco stomped over, looking angry. "What did you do to my shirt, Potter?" He demanded. There were rips were the boy's nipples were, and they stood out oddly between his white shirt, and his pale skin. And written on each nipple was a letter. The left was an H, and the right, a P. Harry looked at Heather and his eyes flew open. But as Draco continued to talk, Harry looked up to his face as he sipped some of his juice. And as he looked, the juice shot out of his mouth and all over Draco's legs and shoes.  
  
Written on the blonde's forehead were the words: "I Wank it to Potter."  
  
Draco was sputtering, trying to find something to say in his anger, before he turned and stomped off, the hall still erupting in laughter. The boy walked off, rubbing at his chest, trying to get the ink off. Harry turned to Heather and gaped at her. He had no words to say to her, as he sat there. Turning, completely stunned, he sat and spooned food into his mouth mechanically.  
  
"Heather, that was horrible. Just...bad." Ginny said, shaking and pushing her food away from him. Hermione was holding in her laughter, just barely, and Ron had run down to Colin, slipping the boy a galleon and begging him to go snap a picture of the boy.  
  
Soon Draco was off of everyone's minds and they returned to talking and eating. At one point, Ginny turned and engaged in conversation, and Ron looked at her before leaning forward to Heather. Hermione's face was once more in her book, and Harry was still stunned out of his mind. "Hey, Heather..." with a glance, Heather acknowledged him. "Look, I am sorry about this summer or whatever, my hormones overtook my brain." She nodded, forgiving him already after his little speech in her honor to Roger, who had stalked off at some time during the Draco-confrontation with a smirk on his face. "Ok, now that that is done, I have a question for you."  
  
"What is it Ron?"  
  
"Well...its about Ginny. Like, well, girl things. You know about that, you are a girl."  
  
"Hey, you should be happy. Took him 4 years to notice I was." Hermione muttered as she smiled into her cup of tea. Ron stuck his tongue out playfully.  
  
"Well, you didn't look like she does, sorry Hermione." Hermione scowled as Ron said this, sticking her tongue back out.  
  
"Harry, Ron is hitting on Heather."  
  
"Ron, stop hitting on my damned woman."  
  
"Yes almighty Master Potter."  
  
"You were asking, Ron.?" Heather asked as Hermione returned to her book and Harry slipped one hand to capture Heather's, as the thought of Draco wanking and his name in the same sentence was giving him a great pain.  
  
"Yeah. You see, Ginny has a very bad case of mood swings during her...time of the month, you know." Heather nodded. "Well, what do I do when she has her mood swings. I need to know so I don't get myself killed or cursed to next year."  
  
Heather smiled sympathetically. "Easy. She swings, you duck." It took Ron a minute to understand that, before looking at Heather in slight confusion. "Look Ron, all girls have different reactions during their...'time' as you called it. I mean, I have friends that get timid and have reverses of their personalities," Few missed the bugged-out look on Harry's face, but mostly ignored it as Heather continued. "If your sister really loses her mind and goes through mood swings badly, I'd say you be submissive, do whatever she says, give her presents and be her manservant until it all is over." Heather winked to Ginny, who smiled as they looked at each other.  
  
Ron nodded, and then Hermione smiled. "You know Ron, I could get you some books about..." He cut her off with his hand held up, narrowing his eyes are here.  
  
"Are they like, dating or something?" Heather whispered to Harry. The boy laughed out loud and shook his head as he did.  
  
"No. More like siblings. Those two wouldn't last a month dating."  
  
"But the flirting and..."  
  
Harry nodded, smiling. "Yeah, that's what Ron said. Hermione doesn't like him like that, doesn't see him as anything more. From what I understand. Besides, intellectually, neither is where the other is and that makes it even less likely to work."  
  
Heather turned and looked Harry in his eyes. "Are we where each other are intellectually oh mighty psychiatrist, Harry Freud?"  
  
"No, I am only using you for your body, didn't you know." He replied cheekily. They were about to kiss when they noticed the quiet. They turned and looked as Ron sat there, faking a starry-eyed look, hands clasped together and fluttering his eyelashes. Hermione was grinning behind her book, and Ginny had a piece of bread in her hand, ready to throw it.  
  
"Uh...yeah. I think its time you all head to class."  
  
"Why, so you and Harry can be alone. Planning on doing some interesting things with the food or something perhaps..." Ron smirked as he over- dramatically winked to Harry.  
  
"No Ron, I'm not like you." Harry replied, sitting back some and slipping his arms around Heather's waist. He would have nightmares that night thanks to that girl, so he desired all physical contact with her female body possible to eliminate the thought of Malfoy with his hand down the front of his robes in a broom closet in the Quidditch changing room.  
  
"Yes, I am sure Saint Potter wouldn't do anything remotely like that. Too holy."  
  
"No, its just that, what we do," Heather slipped her arms around Harry's neck, "is something that we have decided we refuse to let you 3 watch. Today was a one time thing." Heather kissed Harry's forehead. He was running thoughts of how to find a good searching spell, and possibly a castration curse. He was also running the risks of Obliviating himself from the memory he just was invaded with. He looked up to acknowledge her, as she continued talking. "Although, Saint Potter, I have been somewhat of a bad girl, and maybe my punishment should be open for public display."  
  
Ron cleared his throat before standing, scowling at Heather, and grabbing his stuff. "See you at Hagrid's, Harry." Hermione nodded, standing as well. She took her things up, but stayed standing there, waiting for Harry.  
  
"What?"  
  
"Making sure you get to class and don't divert to a broom closet." She said with a smile before looking through her book again.  
  
"What is that?"  
  
"It's a book on the theory of Disembodied Souls. It was actually written by your mother, with some extra work and help from a few people that were in her department at the time. I was going to give it to you, but reading it caught me up as I wondered what my childhood Invisible Friend could have joined to."  
  
Harry nodded, standing before smacking himself on the head. "I forgot, Dumbledore needed to see me. So, I'm headed this way." Harry pointed over his shoulder.  
  
"Well, I'm on to McGonagall's Office, have some stuff to go over with her." Heather replied. They shared a slight kiss, and Hermione made a sarcastic cooing sound.  
  
"Where's mine?" Harry stuck his tongue out at her. She smiled sardonically. "Well, I'm headed that way." Hermione said, pointing in the opposite direction as Harry was going. "You can walk with me." Heather nodded, smiling at the girl.  
  
"Well, my two favorite girls are headed to learn, and I am headed to go be lectured by out esteemed Headmaster for...something."  
  
With a wave, Harry headed to the Headmaster's office.  
  
-----  
  
"Sorry about this morning, by the way." Hermione said as she walked, Heather a foot to her side, both walking the fairly silent halls.  
  
"I think Harry was more embarrassed, not to mention a lot less clothed than I was. I mean, you met them. Being around Zoe and Kirstin doesn't do much for one's modesty." Hermione laughed. "Those girls have no shame really."  
  
"I gathered that pretty. Kirstin in one wild girl..." But Heather cut her off, clearing things up.  
  
"No. Its more Zoe. You caught them switched up. Regardless, the most modest of days for them would make me blush coming out of my room." Hermione smiled.  
  
"I never asked, but...you and Harry. How did that all happen. I mean...all the times I saw you, that guy Tim was always around you." Heather rolled her eyes at this, waving it off.  
  
"So, Potter's whores band together do they?" Draco said, slipping from the shadows of one of the corridors like a true snake, smiling. Heather didn't even look at him, still heading up the stairs. However, Hermione did. She regarded the boy with a dark look as they continued walking.  
  
"Mr. Malfoy, just where to you find the need to use such language in the corridors of this institution?" Draco turned to see the caretaker, Argus Filch standing behind him.  
  
"Oh shut up, squib." Draco spat that word like it was an insult.  
  
"Well, Mr. Malfoy, I do believe that will be a detention with me tonight, along with tomorrow night thanks due to your language toward those ladies. Now, if you would, head to class."  
  
Draco scowled darkly as he left the corridor.  
  
-----  
  
"You know, its interesting to think now how we let this whole thing mutate out of our control. I mean, it looks like we have a lot in common." Heather spoke as she adjusted the bag she held from one hand to the other as they neared McGonagall's room.  
  
"I think that had been the whole problem. We were too much alike, and didn't want to be." Hermione said with a smile. "But whatever there was, it is going to die now. Harry likes you a lot, and his happiness is paramount to any old 'rivalry' between the two of us."  
  
Heather smiled. "Sounds good. But with the whole 'Harry must be happy over everything else' speech, you sounded either like you were his mother, or that you had some kind of non-platonic..."  
  
"Don't finish the thought. Its...it's a thought that has entered my mind at times, but it never seems right. I need to be there as the friend, unclouded by any feelings. Let's face it, you've met Ron, and he doesn't always think before he leaps into things, even conversation. I over-analyze a lot, but I think things through. And Harry...Harry is the middle ground between me and Ron. He is the glue that keeps me together as a person. And without him, well, I'd be thoroughly screwed as one would say."  
  
"You didn't answer the question."  
  
"To put it simply, you have nothing to worry about. I've put thoughts of us together away since 3rd year, and I don't have them back out. There is no one I like at the moment, and that includes Harry. More like a pseudo- brother to me."  
  
Heather nodded, and then looked to Hermione out of the corner of her eye. Hermione felt her gaze and met it, and Heather smirked. "But you would still, as you all so elegantly say, 'shag his brains out', right?"  
  
Hermione smirked, seeing the smile on Heather's face and how the anger and dislike was evaporated for understanding and friendship. "Until his brain was mush and I hadn't the energy to stand."  
  
"Good girl." Heather said, patting her on the back. She took that arm and wrapped it over Hermione's shoulder, and they walked down the hall, changing subjects to embarrassing "Harry" moments, Heather sharing her few and Hermione her many before they finally got to the classroom.  
  
Once there, they detached, Hermione waving goodbye and Heather heading into the classroom. Both girls had a new perspective of the other, and the animosity was long gone as they had more important things to worry about.  
  
Namely Harry.  
  
"Harry, you have an odd talent of brining together the most opposite people, and making them deal with each other out of love for you." Hermione muttered as she headed down the hallway.  
  
-----  
  
"Heather, was that Ms. Granger you were talking to a moment ago?" McGonagall asked.  
  
"Yes ma'am it was."  
  
"Oh bugger" the woman muttered. Heather smirked as the woman blushed and tried to act embarrassed by saying it. "We will be out House Points. She has Hagrid's class, and there is no way she could make it back to him in time." She pulled out a parchment. "Don't tell anyone, but I need you to take this note to her." Heather inclined an eyebrow.  
  
"Snape doesn't think the Gryffindors can win the House Cup without Harry doing absurd things with abusing his power. So we need to conserve all the Points possible." She handed the note to Heather, who walked out the door and chased Hermione down the stairs. The girl stopped and took the letter from Heather. She read over it before looking in shock. Heather relayed as much of the message as she could, and Hermione got a smile on her face. A smile that, for lack of a better term, freaked Heather out.  
  
"Bye!" and Hermione turned away and actually started _running_ off. The direction Heather knew her class wasn't in. But she knew was the way to the Gryffindor Dorms, the Library and Dumbledore's office.  
  
Heather turned and headed back to McGonagall's.  
  
-----  
  
"Professor..."  
  
"Yes Mr. Potter, please, do have a seat." Harry took a seat in front of the man's desk, and looked to him. His bright blue eyes were as bright as ever, a jolly smile on his face, and a lemon drop in his hand, awaiting to take the place of the one that was being worked in the Headmaster's mouth at the time.  
  
"What did you need to see me about, Professor."  
  
"Yes. Harry, there are many things we must talk about. But first on the agenda," He lifted the wooden bowl to his side and held it out, "Lemon drop?" Harry smiled at the man's antics and indulged himself in a handful, popping one into his mouth while palming the rest. The Headmaster smiled before continuing.  
  
"Now that that is taken care of, on to less pressing matters." Harry smiled despite himself. The man's good mood was being infectious, and Harry was finding himself floating in happiness. "First, the relationship between you and Ms. Thomas."  
  
Harry felt the need to chuckle as he realized that she and Dean had the same last name, and his cheery mind was not processing things correctly as he continuously popped Lemon Drops. He had taken a good 5, and the Headmaster had not seen him doing so apparently. Nor had he seen when Harry had slipped himself some more and taken even more.  
  
His mind was spinning, and a smile was forming on his lips before a full- blown laugh belted out. Dumbledore did something completely unexpected as Harry laughed. He pulled his wand. But this seemed to make Harry laugh harder. So hard in fact, he fell back out of the chair, still laughing. Dumbledore muttered _Finite Incantatem_ and Harry stopped laughing completely.  
  
"Uh, sir, what just happened there?"  
  
"Give me the lemon drops, Harry." Harry thought to shake his head before he simply dropped the lemon drops to the floor and stood slowly. The world spun for a moment and he braced himself on the back of the second chair. "You overdosed on the light Cheering Charm that are on the lemon drops."  
  
Harry sat down in the chair after righting the one he had sat in, choosing the chair away from the lemon drops. "Now, my previous question about the current-" Harry cut him off.  
  
"I heard you the first time." He was in a cross mood somewhat, as he snapped at the old man. "But why is it any of your business?"  
  
"Because Harry, there are bi-laws in the school that must be taken into consideration. And I was unable to give you a briefing on Head Boy duties and privileges as I normally would do, seeing as a visit back to your place was impossible at the time."  
  
Harry sat back. He nodded to the man, showing he would listen to whatever he said. "Let's say this. Heather and I are seeing each other."  
  
"Have you been...intimate?"  
  
Harry groaned, wondering why it was the business of every faculty member ho his sex life was going. But he was drawing the line there. If Snape came up to him offering Prophylaxis Potion, he was grabbing his wand, and Unforgivables would sprinkle the crowd like London Rain. He gave a simple nod.  
  
"Alright then Harry. Here is what must be understood. As Head Boy, a position usually given exclusively to 7th years, most school restrictions do not apply to you. Girls are allowed in the Head Boy room, mainly due to the need Head Boy and Girl interactions without restrictions. 17 is of age in the magical community, which means that, as Head Boy, you hold no restrictions to who you can and can not see."  
  
"Uh...so what was the point of you needing to know about how Heather and I were doing together?" Dumbledore opened his mouth, but Harry cut him off. "If you say anything along the lines of 'because I wanted to know how you were doing', I swear on everything I hold dear we will have a repeat performance of last year's destruction of your dear old office."  
  
"Firstly, Harry, because you are not yet 17. I can make the fact that you are Head Boy outweigh this, but I needed to know whether or not you two were together in such a way that I would need to do such a thing." Harry nodded to the question. "Ok, and now for the second reason I needed to know." The man paused for a moment. "I needed to know, because I felt the need to inform you of Ms. Thomas' training, so you have some idea of what she is going through, and how you can help her." Harry nodded.  
  
"She is going through training to be the tutor for the Spiritual Comprehension and Projection classes we will hold here as mandatory talent training here in the school. Once all of the Teachers in Training are trained fully and prepared that is.  
  
"It once was a rare gift, but with the dilution of magical blood, many people in the school have it, all of them being girls. Professor McGonagall can not teach them all partly because she only knows theory for the more advanced bits of projection, but mainly due to her Transfiguration duties. This is all connected to you because the Projection she is learning, as I am being informed, is a connection to nature and herself above all others. So, because of this, Heather's need to be connected to herself and know all about who she is."  
  
"And how can I help her do this...?"  
  
"You have to know what you feel. She will be overly emotional at times, but will have to know herself for her abilities to function. So you must know how you feel about her and keep it that way as much possible."  
  
"So you are asking me to determine my feelings for her, and not change them."  
  
"Yes."  
  
"What if it is a decision between hurting me and hurting her?"  
  
"That, my dear boy, is what love is."  
  
Harry sputtered, sitting up in his seat. "I never said anything about loving her."  
  
"Nor did I. I simply noted that, when the time comes, you will know whether you love her or not by how she places in terms of your own pain and safety. I would love to see how that goes..." Dumbledore sat back and smiled.  
  
"Is that all? Can I go now?" His mood was both cross and confused. But Dumbledore shook his head.  
  
"No Harry. Because now we move on to a new topic of discussion. The true reason I brought you here. We shall move on from Heather to you. You, and the things that have been invading your dreams as of yet." Harry looked to the man with a look of confusion on his face. There was no way he could have known...  
  
"Now, I know very little about them, and this is where I have to ask you to explain everything you know. And I will fill in gaps, and we can hopefully make a picture of everything." Harry looked indignant. Why would the man have anything to input into _his dreams_. But Harry looked to his eyes, and Dumbledore looked pleading, begging to help.  
  
"Fine. Here is what happened. The summer started, and I would dream of being trapped in a world of Dementors. It was cold and dark. And for a long time I was trapped in there. Soon there was a golden light that I would grab a hold of and feel. It made it feel less cold.  
  
"After Heather and I met and got close, there was a golden world, completely warm and such. But soon enough, there was a dream where I met Necros. Necros is the soul of Dark Slyther as you called it. And after meeting him twice, we engaged in a mass battle with millions of Dementors. We took a lot of them out, as there was a scream coming that seemed to drive us.  
  
"Just recently we engaged a smaller number, but the Lord Dementor was there. Necros was weakened by it, and when we killed it, some person named Caliburn came out. He had been looking for him for a long time. And that is where I have come so far."  
  
Dumbledore was sitting with his fingertips together, listening as Harry told the story. He would nod at points, and close his eyes, listening sometimes. When Harry was finished, Dumbledore took a moment to think.  
  
"Here is what I am gathering," Dumbledore began. "It starts with the legend of how Dark Slyther, or Necros, became Necros. How it got a soul and an awareness.  
  
"It is said it stole the souls of men, and their bodies became perverted without a soul, and in their sorrow, somehow they became Dementors. Now, with this basis, the souls of Dementors live inside the soul of Necros. And with him joined to you, you are housing millions of souls from Dementors inside of you. One of the key reasons Dementors bother you so much."  
  
Harry nodded, running the information over. Necros had arisen at some point, and they seemed to have a mental discussion over the information, deciding to believe the information they were being told. It did explain why a Dark Lord who had killed his parents scared him less than a floating cloak with no body and no real power.  
  
"Every battle you have inside the pits of your mind removes some of those souls, destroying their dark influence on you, as Necros no longer needs to feed off of those souls, as it is attached to you and living off of you as much as you off of him. So, assuming that all Dementors are destroyed, after having vanquished the Lord Dementor as you told me, I figure that Necros is fairly cleansed of any 'darkness' that would be associated with him."  
  
Harry let out a sigh, as he realized that he had just been told that Dementors were no longer the greatest threat to him any longer. He had just been freed.  
  
"And now the issue of the person he had been waiting for. Caliburn. This name is generally associated with the legend of King Arthur. The sword known as Excalibur was said to have a given name of Caliburn." Harry's jaw dropped. "The weapon, which was obtained while attempts were made to exile of its predecessor, Necros, would grow to surpass its 'older brother' in legend, only because no one recognized the switch. No one say that it was Necros who did the damage, and Caliburn came in at the last moment and took the glory in a way.  
  
Caliburn was in fact, said not to have been meant to be a weapon in the first place. Caliburn itself was said to have once been the shield of a great King before it was melted down into a sword, and later tossed to the Lady of the Lake, who much later, gave it to King Arthur. Its soul is tied to Necros as one would be tied to a younger brother or sister, and I believe that it is now freed from its entrapment. Now that that has happened, all that is left for you to do it find what it has attached itself to. And once that is done...I guess we can go from there."  
  
Harry sat back. For all accounts of how ignorant he was on human emotion and what was best for people, Harry was wowed by how much the man knew and how well he had deducted everything by putting the pieces of the puzzle Harry didn't know where so connected together. He smiled, and indulged in one last lemon drop.  
  
"Sir, may I go now?"  
  
"Yes you may Harry. I already informed Hagrid that you would be missing his class, and I feel that it would be a good idea for you to try and work on more of that training we spoke of."  
  
Harry nodded before turning from the office and heading out. He headed toward the library, wondering how Necros was created, and why, the more he let himself act out how he felt, the more he fought and used the Anti-Light in his physical form, the more he started to physically meld into the man he had seen that first meeting.  
  
Thinking to himself, Harry wondered, _How is it that I am a 'true Gryffindor' when what is deep inside of me was created at the hands of a Slytherin? When I am becoming so...I don't know what I am becoming. How can I...  
_  
Harry heard a voice in the back of his mind, **Because Salazar Slytherin and Godric Gryffindor were half-brothers.  
**  
And Harry stood there, dumbfounded. Was it really that simple. Was it really that cut and dry. Why he and Tom Riddle looked similar. Why it seemed every so often a Slytherin would show random flashes of courage to back up their ambition, and Gryffindors would be ambitious to ensure things turned out right and well. It all made sense, too much sense to make since.  
  
_Shut up Necros, you don't know what you are talking about.  
  
_**I don't? I could have sworn I WAS THERE! So you shut up, and go on about your bloody business. Look it up if you must. I assure you, I am right.  
**  
And look it up Harry did.  
  
-----  
  
_The Founders of Hogwarts all knew each other from a young age. Catalina Ravenclaw, Rowena's mother, married a man by the name of Tilik Slytherin. They birthed a child by the name of Salazar. However, months later, Catalina cheated, birthing a son to Tilik's superior in the Royal service, not by choice. The child was forced to take the name of its father, almost as an insult to Slytherin. The boy's name was Godric Gryffindor.  
  
The 3 grew up together, close as could be, Godric son of Godric, Salazar son of Tilik, and Rowena birthed by Catalina's widowed husband, Aguilus. Helga, a girl who lived near them, soon attached to their band of friends.  
  
The rift between Godric and Salazar would soon tear the group apart, as Catalina began to favor Godric, and scorned Salazar. Salazar grew close to his father, who had taken to dark wizardry after Godric's insulting birth and the destruction of his masterpiece, a weapon he created for the king. Both Godric and Rowena stayed close to their mother, who was born to a family that lacked magic, which taught them acceptance, as she was a powerful charmer. Tilik, meanwhile, cursed all born not of noble blood, calling them whores that lied and slept around. Salazar adopted this to heart and grew to hate his mother.  
  
It was said, sometime after the creation of Hogwarts, that his hate grew too great. He tried to deny all of non-pureblooded birth entry to learn magic, hoping to filter out the "problem" that his mother was part of. This raised a problem in the group, as none but Helga was a pureblooded in any sense. But the girl stood firm, loyal to her friends and refusing to exclude anyone.  
  
So, intending to show how evil the "mudbloods" as he called them were, how cheap and disgusting, he made to try and make a pass at his own mother, disguised to hide who he was. She rejected him, and wanting to prove his point, he cursed her with a mind-altering curse that forced her into his service and raped her in front of them all. Godric saw this and rushed him.  
  
And the infamous fall-out between the two occurred, as Godric attempted to run his sword through his older half brother. The weapon struck, but not fatally, and Slytherin retreated to the fabled Chamber of Secrets to heal.  
  
Some time after, Slytherin returned, to find his raped mother pregnant with his child. After she had it, she refused to look at him or turn it over to him for his care. His anger overtook him, and he blasted a green light from his wand, a blast of what would later become known as the Killing Curse. And with this curse, he struck down his own mother. He took the child with him and fled the school, never to be seen again.  
_  
-----  
  
Harry sat there, dumbfounded for a good long while. And then an unexpected reaction occurred. He laughed. Loudly. He laughed loud and hard, laughing boisterously in the quite space before falling from his chair, rolling onto his back, and staring up at the ceiling, still laughing to beat the band.  
  
Madam Pince rushed over to him and eyed him warily. "Mr. Potter, may I ask what is so funny." After Harry calmed down his laughter, he pointed at the book.  
  
"Slytherin...Heir...Voldemort...Inbred..." And then his laughter started up again. He got himself up from the floor, grabbed the book and fled the library, laughing all the way back to the tower. He got there to find Hermione sitting there, with a quill in hand and reading the Disembodied Souls book. He didn't even think to wonder why she was not at Hagrid's class, and instead pulled out  
  
"Hermione, I have got to show you this." And he opened the book in front of her. And as she read it, her eyes went alight. And she smiled brightly. And soon was in a laughing fit.  
  
"Forget being a mudblood. Next time Malfoy claims to heir Slytherin, I can call him an inbred ferret!" And Harry got an idea. Casting a copying charm onto the page, he enlarged it and hung it up on the walls around the tower.  
  
And laughter filled the tower all night long. And as Harry headed back to his room, he knew he had given ammunition to all the Gryffindors bullied by Malfoy and his gang of Slytherins.  
  
-----  
  
Harry got back to his room to see Heather sitting on his bed. She was swinging her legs back and forth, leaning back on her arms, with her eyes closed humming some rhythm.  
  
"You know, if you hum that badly, I am glad you never try and sing too often."  
  
"Hey! I was humming to you when we first met! You didn't complain then!"  
  
"Hey, I had just fallen from a building, I didn't know any better." She scowled at him. But he smiled cheekily at her. "What are you here for exactly?" He asked, eyeing her as she dragged her legs up the side of the bed to rest atop it, so her knees were bent and her body weight resting back on her arms.  
  
"Hey, I figured, we got interrupted earlier today. The potion lasts for another few days, and I am not looking forward to going to that Snape guy for more of it. So I figure, have all the fun I can..." And she was cut off as Harry kicked the door closed and jumped into bed with her, tickling her for a moment before she rolled on top of him.  
  
And sharing a deep kiss, they locked eyes. Heather started to pull off her shirt, but Harry stopped her. He shook his head, rolled her off of him and to the side, and turned so he could look at her. Her legs were still wrapped around his waist, but their bodies were turned so they could look at each other while laying on their sides.  
  
"Or, we could just go to sleep. I had a long day."  
  
Heather smirked. "Potter too tired to play is he? I wear him out, and he can't work again for a whole day? Am I that damned good or are you just that bad..." Heather teased, before Harry slapped her in the head with a pillow and closed his eyes.  
  
Heather moved closer to him, wrapping her arms around him and slipping her head onto his chest. She could feel his heartbeat, and it made her feel real. It validated her somehow. And when he put his arms around her waist, it almost felt like he was holding her, protecting her. Keeping her safe.  
  
And with a slow smile on her face, Heather closed her eyes and drifted away to sleep.  
  
-----  
  
**_A/N: Ok, this is now the longest chapter so far.  
  
So frickin long.  
  
Over 13,000 words.  
  
Damn.  
  
A lot of explanation, vague action, and a lot setting up romance. I am proud of myself! Not only did I set Ron up to be an ok guy in this one, as I challenged myself to do, but I also made it semi-fluffy with an edge, and a glimpse at how the plot seems to be leaking out. I am dropping puzzle pieces that you think make sense now, but when you finally get the whole picture, either you will be like, "D'oh! Should have known" or you will be like, "Ahhh, so that's where it was going."  
  
As a note, the Draco part, it physically made my stomach hurt. Writing some of the things gave me mental pictures, and the thought of some guy in the locker room closet with his hand in his pants while I changed would make me lose my lunch. Quick, easy, sure-fire way to make me sick. All for you all's entertainment, I guess. I do hope you all like it. If chapter 15 gets 2 more reviews, the story will have 30 reviews a chapter average, and that blows my mind. A lot, especially since, when I started, my first story had an average of 0 reviews for 5 chapters, and the second about 7 for 6 chapters. This is making me so...happy. I don't know what to say to you all. So I tried to show it by making this chapter longer, and trying to get it out fast.  
  
(7/15, 12:47. got 2 more reviews! cheers they were asking about H/Hr. thanks for reviewing, and the titanic comment was funny. But, yes. Sunk to the bottom and imploded. At least in this fic romantically. Sexually...I reserve the rights to leave my options open. laughs maniacally)  
  
Word of advice, shirking out on Summer School will come back to bite you in the ass one day. For me, I have a presentation to do on the 16th, and I have zero done on it. It's the end of the 14th now. Shit.  
  
Those who don't like the rating increase...dude, too bad. Sorry, but teenagers do not live in a pg-13 world. I know I say enough curses in a day to make HBO censor me, so I doubt anyone really over-censors themselves. I don't want to read a story where it is clear that it is all make-believe fantasy stuff with words like crap sprayed around like a fire extinguisher. Some are good, mine...I write more eccentric. Yeah, that's the word.  
  
I'm a friggin Spaz.  
  
Well, that's it everyone, and as of right now the count for the 1 Chapter Project is this:  
  
Slytherin Queen: 1st person POV of Female!Blaise Zabini. Learn what the Slytherin Queen has to say about shopping at Voldie-Mart, Paper and Plastic, Viagra, Freckles, Hufflepuffs and of course, Harry Potter. Starting 6th year. Planned Harry/Blaise. Genre: Humor/Slight Romance. Status: Done!!  
  
Heir of the Moon: Harry dies and comes back years later as a kick-ass pseudo-Grim Reaper with the tutelage of Death Herself. Post Hogwarts. Genre: Dark/Action. No pairing as of yet. Status: Done!!  
  
Emerald-Eyed Angel: Harry goes through a lot of pain and eventually attempts suicide. This births something in him a new awareness. And bursts out of him, 6 wings. 7th year. Early H/Hr/R triangle, no pairings planned. Genre: Angst Status: Half Done...halted. Damned Writer's Block.  
  
Of the Shadows: Harry is accused of killing Draco, but was locked in the Cupboard under the stairs. Dursleys lie, Harry goes to prison. He breaks out, and uses power over Darkness born in him to take out Voldemort. But the world has a worse problem. Him. Starts summer before 6th, will be Post- Hogwarts. No pairing as of yet. Genre: Dark, Dark, Dark/Mystery/Action Status: In progress.  
  
Pain of the Savior: Harry is used to destroy Voldemort and thrown out. No one cares about his pain. But a few old enemies that won't stay that way come to drag him out of his depression, if it means becoming not-so-bloody evil in the process. Post-Hogwarts. Harry/Narcissa/Bellatrix (Harry:20, Narcissa:35, Bellatrix: 32) Genre: uh...hmm...Angst/Romance/...something else. Status: Not even bloody started. Crap. Must get working._**


	17. Chapter 17: 99 Problems

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_**Check the A/N at the end, and uh...that's it. On with Chapter 17**_

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Harry stood, staring out at the lake early in the morning. He had awakened early in the morning, deeming it a good idea to do so as he had a full day ahead of him, consisting of a long introductory transfiguration class, as well as some work in Care for Magical Creatures with Hagrid. The day would be longer than the previous day, as a Prefect meeting was scheduled for later that night, and his first patrolling session was around that time in the morning the next day. It would be very little sleep, and Harry was awakened early plagued with a million thoughts rushing his conscious mind.

He stood outside the school with a hot cup of coco in his hands and his heavy cloak forgotten as the early morning autumn wind was accommodating with his attire. The light fog layering the ground seemed to trap his body heat to him, and he was kept warm.

He was out there, trying to sort out the thoughts and emotions that were his, and trying to figure out a way to not allow Necros' power, which was therefore, subsequently his own, to become a liability should someone like Draco Malfoy decide to anger him any further.

But as he stood there, instincts overtook him, and he became aware of a body moving across the grounds. Whoever it was was not heading for him exactly, but they were going to see each other at some point.

Harry wasn't the type to wait.

"Who's there." He said steadily and calmly, fingering his wand, which he had jammed down into his sleeve as he left, and now slipped into his hand as he put one arm down straight.

"Hello...?" Came a voice Harry thought familiar, but not enough so that he remembered whose voice it was.

"I said who is there." Harry stated dryly, his eyes surveying the area around him. "Answer unless you want to wake up in the Hospital Wing, answer me, now!"

"Woah there, calm down." Came the voice, as the person it belonged to made it so Harry could see her and she could see him. She had her hands up in defeat as Harry's wand was leveled at her head.

And as Harry looked at her, he realized who it was. Long dark hair, deep tanned skin and strong, high cheekbones. By all appearances, it was Parvati Patil. But appearances are easily deceiving. With her oddly unremarkable face, lack of make-up charms and the reading glasses that sat perched on her forehead, at her hairline, Harry knew who it was by simple elimination.

"Padma?"

The girl nodded and smiled meekly, still eying the wand Harry had yet to drop from its position trained on her. He blushed timidly and lowered the wand to his side, taking another sip of his coco.

"What are you doing out this early?" Padma asked curiously, looking around the fog for someone else apparently. "Is it okay for my to be here, I don't want to put my foot in my mouth like that idiot Cho and get cursed out by Heather."

Harry chuckled some. "Heather? Guess she is infamous already with Ravenclaw."

"No, not really. More, Cho hates her, and therefore, a group of us who don't love her, being Cho, that much have come to like her. Me, I know of her from past meetings we have had. I had gotten a very bad illness at the end of last year and had to come up here at the end of the summer when I was better to take the O.W.L.s."

Harry nodded, downing the last of the coco only to feel more liquid fill in the cup. He smiled, reminding himself to thank Dobby when he got in the castle. "I came out here to clear my head. But really, I should be asking you about why you are here. I have permission."

"You do, don't you." Padma stated rhetorically, looking out toward the lake with Harry. "I came out here to do some mind-clearing, and a bit of soul-searching. Can't do it in the Ravenclaw common room, so I have to come out here."

"Why can't you do it in your common room? Is it so bad or illegal or something?" Harry asked, not in such a way that it seemed like he was dying to know, but enough to be truly interested. He had his own problems, but he was never one to deny the reality of anyone else's issues.

"Its nothing bad. But it's a form of deep meditation that centers around finding the root of yourself, and getting in touch with your soul. It is considered religious by some, when really it is self-control taken to a new level. Because of its supposed religious properties, it is shunned by Ravenclaws. They are too focused in their bloody self-righteous pursuits of intelligence and therefore, too self-absorbed to learn something new." Padma looked to Harry apologetically. "Sorry to bore you with my sob stories of unfair Ravenclaws."

Harry shook his head. "No, its actually perfectly fine. It seems like some kind of Divine Intervention as it was. I came out here to do a bit of soul-searching of my own. So this is the kind of thing that I really needed to hear."

"So, what kind of problems does Mister Harry James Potter have, outside of the obvious He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named issues that everyone knows about."

"With what I am dealing with, I would kill for a break so I can deal with old Riddle." Harry muttered under his breath. At the girl's confused look, he shook his head, not wanting to deal with explaining. "So what is this technique you have? Are you the only one who does it?"

"Its just meditation, but the intent behind it is what makes it work the way it does. I am not alone, and actually it was Luna Lovegood that made me feel better about coming out about doing it a few years ago. It was the key reason my sister and I lacked dates to the Yule Ball, as it came out soon before that, and a campaign against us and our beliefs was led by a few Ravenclaws. But despite it, it has been me, Luna, and Parvati. We used to do the meditation all together, as it helps one center themselves when they have others around on the same mental plane. However, I am an Early Bird, while Parvati is a Night Owl, and Luna...well, they don't call her Loony for nothing. Our timing is off now, so its every man...well, woman, for herself."

They had begun walking a bit, and Harry was listening intently as Padma described the mental state such meditative practices induced on someone, and it was meant to bring one in touch with themselves. Such meditation had magical properties when used by someone with magical blood, and could be used for such things as self-transfiguration and in sensing the differences in ingredients in Potions with similar appearances, as well as sensing different magical wavelengths. Padma revealed that that had been a big breakthrough that she and Luna were working on to present to the Headmaster as something to teach, as she had watched her Transfiguration and Potions scores soar above those of many Ravenclaws her year, which was special for her as she had been predicted to be a Charmer and nothing more.

Harry stopped a moment later and looked at her. "Padma, if it wouldn't be too much of a problem, imposing on you, well, more than I already have..." And she cut him off.

"You want to learn?"

Harry smiled meekly. "Sure it wasn't a Diviner, and not a Charmer you were to be?" He said, as he started to head back toward the castle.

"Not sure, could have been." She said, smiling as he walked away, her brown eyes mocking him as he walked away, daring him to make a comment. Harry smiled back at her before turning from her and heading back to the castle.

And as luck would have it, the moment the doors opened, they smacked Snape directly in the face. He stumbled back for a moment, sputtering before looking up at Harry from the floor as he landed on his backside. Standing, he glared and stated, "The Headmaster wants you, Potter."

They looked eyes, and kept staring at one another, neither backing down. Still staring at Snape, Harry spoke. "20 points from Slytherin, go find a broom closet." And with a turn, Harry was heading toward Dumbledore's office. Snape was standing there, fuming. He opened his mouth the take points for abuse of power, but as he turned to say it to Harry's back as the boy walked away, he looked and saw Pansy Parkinson holding Draco Malfoy's body between the wall and herself, looking thoroughly please with herself, while Malfoy looked frightened out of his mind.

Growling, Snape turned with a flourish of his black robes, and headed toward the Staff Quarters. He grumbled angrily to himself, before muttering his password and entering the hole made by the moved portrait. The only portrait in the castle that was empty.

And stayed that way.

-----

Harry entered the Headmaster's office to find Heather sitting there, as well as Tonks standing by the girl's chair. Harry took a seat in the chair that he assumed was reserved for him, and looked to the old man before him. Dumbledore smiled calmly and spoke evenly. "Harry, things must be done at the moment. It has just been learned by muggle courts that Petunia had, in fact, put in her will that Lily was to take the ownership of all of here sister's properties. This was long ago, and was never changed. Vernon, on the other hand, seemed to have never instituted a will of his won. Therefore, it seems that Ownership of the land of Number 4 Privet Drive has befallen you."

Harry looked at Dumbledore for a long moment, completely silent. "And what would give you the impression that I would want anything to do with that piece of land?" He asked, his eyes trained on Dumbledore intently.

"It has little to do with want at this point, Harry. Because, despite the blood protection, there are still firm and powerful Wards placed on that property. So much so in fact, that a muggle could not actually buy the property for some time, as the Wards themselves would end up causing an outcry with the Ministry concerning Muggle-Magic relations.

"And the Wards are the key issue here. It has been determined that housing will be set up there, and ownership of it will stay in your name. Legally, under the muggle community, we have looking into something called emancipation, and, thanks to Ms. Thomas' knowledge on the subject, have been able to get such legal standings for you. However, in the magical community, such things are not possible. So, that is really where the bigger problem is."

Harry sat there, looking at Dumbledore. The man had just told him that he would be moving back onto Privet Drive, which, without the Dursleys, seemed to be a fine place to live. However, he was seeing an issue. The man was taking over again. Charging himself with Harry's care, and not asking the boy one bit. "Hold on. So let me get this straight. I will be living on Number 4 come summer, and to any person in the muggle world, I am a legal adult. But magically, I will be in the care of..." And Harry awaited an answer.

"That, Harry, is yet to be decided. What I have called you here for is to inform you that, this coming weekend, you will have to be taken to the land to set up some Warding around the property. You personally have to be there, and we have taken the liberty of magically placing a house there and memory-charming the residents of the area to believe that it had been quickly constructed after the original Number 4's destruction. From there, you will have to stay the night on the land to power the Wards with your magic for a period of 24 hours, and then you will return here. This must be done soon, as, should Voldemort somehow stumble on the area, it would seem as if the house on Number 4 Privet Drive just suddenly appeared from nowhere, as its place on the map was initially unplottable."

Harry was getting tired of getting too much information all at once. He wanted things to be gradual again, when he learned things on his own, instead of someone talking his ear off, then taking information and cramming it through the hole and directly into his brain. It was getting hard to process everything. Placing his head in his hands, as he wrestled with his frustration over the situation, he soon felt Heather's hand on his back. "And why is she here, in the middle of all of this?" Harry asked as he sat back motioning to Heather.

"Ms. Thomas and I have had to have a conversation this morning, concerning many topics. She is here now, as she wishes to go with you to the site. I feel that company would be a good thing, as it can become an emotional night, as the night will force you to deal with the personal demons that are held within your soul concerning your relatives, and deal with the truth that they are gone. She has been permitted to go, as she lives there herself, and is using the privilege that she is awarded as a Trainee to visit home once a month to accompany you. Nymphadora here will be heading with you as an escort."

Harry looked around him, his head spinning some, and only nodded at the information, tuning out completely. And as he did, his eyes glazed over, and he retreated to the recesses of his mind.

-----

"This old guy is annoying the bloody shit out of me." Necros commented, as he walked over to a bookshelf and pulled down a book after scanning the titles, and then took a seat in a comfortable chair that was set up across from the couch Harry was sprawled out on. "He needs to get a fucking life and stop interfering with ours."

"Ours?"

"Yes 'Ours' you arse. I live here too you know." Necros commented as he turned a page in the book, looking through it quickly. "So, did your Aunt really cut your hair like that when you were a kid?" Necros asked randomly.

"What are you doing?" Harry asked, sitting up quickly.

"Nothing. Reading through all this crap you have in your head, organizing information. I have been through about 10 years or so, and I think I am making it toward Hogwarts experiences soon enough. Its interesting, really."

"It is, is it? And what, pray tell, is so interesting."

"How fucking boring you are." Necros commented cheekily. Harry grinned sardonically and flipped him an impolite hand gesture, and Necros only grinned more.

"Yeah, been here for a while, organizing everything. Trying to make it so you can think much easier, and access past information and thoughts more quickly. Hopefully at some point we can have you thinking at a near-intelligent level."

"We? I'm not helping. What is it with you including me in all your..." But Harry was cut off.

"I think he means me." Said a new voice, as it appeared from behind a tall bookshelf, which seemed to be everywhere in the room, which looked much like a library with a mini-common room in the center of it. The person was levitating a stack of books behind him as he walked, his long white robes trailing the ground, and a long, pure white staff in his hand.

"Caliburn?" Harry asked, before sitting up in the couch. The figure nodded, pointing the staff at the table, which sent the books to rest there. He then hopped over the back of the couch to land next to Harry. He set his staff to his side and held out a hand, and a book shot into it. He looked to the title, and chuckled.

(u) "Hogwarts: Year 1, Volume 1. Sounds so very interesting." He said, before cracking the book open and began to read through it.

"Dammit, I am not sitting here while you two read all of this. I came here to get away from boredom, not get more of it."

""Shut it you wanker. We are helping you." Necros stated, not even looking up from his reading. Harry growled and launched a pillow toward him. He flipped Necros off before willing himself to return to his consciousness.

-----

He blinked a few times to find Dumbledore missing, and Heather kneeling before his own seated form, shaking at him. He looked at her, and she sighed, before standing and smacking him in the head. "Dammit Potter, you can't just tune out like that. Dumbledore headed down to breakfast a bit ago, and you were dead to the world, so we just ended the whole conversation." She turned her back on him and crossed her arms.

Harry stood, stretched before wrapping his arms around her from behind, kissing her temple. "Calm down. Its perfectly alright." He stated before turning from her and heading toward the door. He muttered some curses before remembering he had been intending to head back to his room to get his things for classes before breakfast, as he had a long Transfiguration period immediately after. He made to leave when he felt Heather's hand on his own. He turned to feel a bag handed to him.

"You owe me."

"Yes, of course I do." Harry stated, kissing her on her cheek before running from the office. The girl growled and gave chase, both running through the hallways like small children, Heather shouting threats at him of what she would do should she and when she did catch him, and Harry laughing at her attempts to scare him.

-----

Transfiguration class started off with a bang. If their first year class shocked them all, then the sixth year class was nothing short of mind-blowing.

They entered the classroom to find it magically enlarged and the floor space was easily enough to rival that of the Great Hall in length from one side to the other. This was something that made little sense to everyone there, as the class was very small, all 4 houses in one room together over 2 periods, the NEWTs Advanced Level Transfiguration class, and the normal NEWTs class.

It was the Advanced class.

Harry and Hermione could only wonder if Ron would get the reception they were getting. Especially when McGonagall walked into the room and began turning each and every person in her viewing into rabbits.

Small bunnies.

It was hilarious to no extent to see Draco Malfoy as a small bunny, as he had been mid-boast about how he was in fact in the NEWTs Advanced class, boasting to people who Harry could tell couldn't have wanted him to shut up more if his continued talking meant that they would be expelled from Hogwarts and lose all magical ability.

He knew, he was within earshot of the blonde.

Close enough to hear the annoying rants, but far enough for his reflexes to take over and have him dive to the side diagonally from the teacher, and therefore from the bunnies, and incidentally it gave him cover in the form of at least 3 rows of human-shields.

He would have normally objected to survival instinct, which conflicted with his morals and his "saving-people-thing", but as he got to see Blaise Zabini blasted into bunny-dom, he put that aside as he slid across the floor. His head bumped the wall, it was somewhat painful, but he still yanked out his wand and trained it on his teacher, who seemed on a mad rampage. Muttering a Stunning Charm and then scrambling to his feet, slipping a few times on the tile before making sure his footing was good before he darted to the other side of the room.

"Stick and Move" was a strategy that was worthy to be observed by more than just boxers. It could keep you alive, and safe, as was what Harry realized as he jetted away to the other side of the room as fast as his feet could carry him, only to slide across the floor and slam into the far wall, as a string of different curses and jinxes followed his path. As soon as he hit the wall, he used it to one-handedly push himself onto his back on the ground, which was painful as one would think. The professor seemed occupied by Hermione, as well as Padma and a few other students who has taken to the mob form of fighting and were raining all the spells they could think of on the teacher.

But none seemed to be doing too much to affect her. And it took Harry a moment of uninvolved observation to figure it out. The spells seemed to be fired at her, only to stop before they hit her and disappear completely. There would be a burst of an opposing color, and then nothing. And that was when it slowly damned on Harry. It was a simple suggestion from Caliburn that made a whole lot of since to Harry.

Shadows.

An Invisibility Charm doesn't hide shadows. Light refraction is not something that is covered by such a simple charm. And as he glanced down on the ground, he saw it. And in the early sunlight, the shadow seemed tall, but Harry knew that in truth, it was way more imposing in size than the person it belonged to.

So with a run, Harry launched two completely different spells in different directions as he slid across the floor, which he realized was unnaturally slippery, obviously charmed. He fired a Stunner at McGonagall and as he slid by Flitwick, he blasted him with a Disarming Hex. And delightfully, he heard the sound of a body hitting the side wall, which was followed soon by McGonagall as Hermione and her group got through to her, a Stunning Charm hitting as well as a Disarming Charm as well as a Silencing Curse, well thought by Padma.

After reviving the professor, she smiled and then spoke.

"It seems that Potter was the first to actually get to the root of this. It was a losing battle for you all, and he realized that."

"But how..." the newly un-bunny-ed Blaise Zabini asked. McGonagall revived Flitwick, who then released the Invisibility Charm on himself. Everyone sighed in understanding of how she was not being affected by their curses, and then Blaise spoke again. "But...that's not fair!"

Harry laughed aloud at this coming from, of all people, a Slytherin. And McGonagall found it amusing as well before she answered. "Who said anything about this being fair?"

"Now class, this whole duel has in fact allowed me to outline the things we will be learning this coming year. Many of you noticed the room's size. It is not an illusion, or more, not an optical illusion, you can explore this room to its full size. It is all there, while at the same time it is not. This is advanced magic, and I doubt many will be able to firmly grasp its intent and its workings. But we will spend some time on it, and those who can grasp it will be all the better.

"Also this year, we will work on human transfiguration, as I demonstrated on a number of you. It is helpful in things in which you as you are could not do, or you must change someone else to befit your circumstances. Self transfiguration using a wand and not the Animagi transformation is dangerous, as one lacks sufficient skills in speech to be able to return to their natural state. Therefore, all transformations are to be supervised and done with someone who is proven to be able to do the counter-spell to therefore change a transformed person back to their normal selves. Now I warn you, it might seem funny to walk through the halls turning someone into any variety of animals. But it is not a justifiable action, and in a passing duel, it is all too dangerous. Magic made for humans can all too commonly interact badly with animals and therefore have very bad effects. This is your last and only warning.

"Lastly, this year we shall study textures. This is the topic we shall cover first once our ground work for the year is finished, and it will help greatly with the animal transfigurations. You will all be learning about how the textures of objects are, and therefore, how to change them. You will learn how to detach texture from look, and learn the ability to make a sheet of parchment as rigid and hard as a board or a broomstick as smooth to the touch as the finest silk.

"Now, take out your books and turn to page 11, past the introduction, but before the first chapter. There you will begin reading quietly to yourselves on the Terms to Remember." Everyone shuffled for their books. However, before Harry could pull his out, McGonagall has made her way over to him and asked him, or more commanded him, to her office. He stood and followed, setting his book down on his desk, he followed quietly. He took a seat and faced McGonagall, who sat down at her desk and looked at him.

"Harry, I know of your trip back to Surrey. I ask that you be careful as you go, I know that it has not been long since you arrived here, but even as you were not here, we made it a point to keep you sheltered from the goings-on. Horrible things are brewing in the horizon, Harry, and all we can do is hope that the storm dies before it makes it to land. Because if it makes it to our shores, then I fear that we may just end up being nothing more than a story ancient peoples tell around campfires."

"What do you mean, Professor?"

"Harry, a war is coming. Its looking to be a very, very bad one as well, one that Obliviators needn't worry about wiping from muggle history, as, at the appearance of this one, there will only be that left to describe what occurred here, as we are all on a Path of Destruction." At Harry's puzzled look, McGonagall elaborated. "A war Harry. Technology against Magic. Muggles against Magicians. It is going completely downhill from here Potter, and I fear that not even you have the power to unify the leagues. Its going to be a bloodbath, and the way it is looking, Hogwarts is not going to be the safest place in the world for anyone anymore.

"Pretty soon, everyone is going to have to pick a side. And either side they pick, I fear, we will all end up losing anyways. This, Harry, is going to be very, very, horrible."

-----

Padma Patil had loaned her book out to a fellow Ravenclaw, and was in need of a book. Hermione saw this, and, being the ever-caring friend of another fiend for knowledge such as herself, she offered Harry's book, as Padma needed only read a few more pages, which was quick work for her in the last remaining minutes of the class. Harry had been in there for some time, and Hermione was in no position to offer her own book, as its notes and scribbles of writing in it made the book more or less unreadable to anyone but her.

And as Padma picked up the book and took it to her desk, she set the book down. In truth, she had finished her reading and was in a deep want to expand on her learning at the immediate time. She had beaten Hermione in finishing the reading, but she had made no notes and had yet to ensure she knew the content like the other girl was doing. But she was in no contest with the bushy-haired which, knowing that any contest would simply lead to rivalry, and therefore and enemy, something that Padma knew she could not afford at the time.

Setting the book so its spine sat upon the desk, she let the book fall open, a practice she utilized when she wanted to expand random knowledge when she had little else to do. And normally it worked as long as a book was not bent toward a certain page. And seeming a fairly new book, she knew this could not have been the case.

However, there was always another variable. It was the Bookworm Tool of Choice. A bookmark. It would severely hamper the proceedings of a random page opening. And did it ever. It opened the book to a given page, only about page 24, but it was neither the low-leveled content nor the weirdness that the book opened to an early page as the book was easily 3000 plus pages.

No, it was the bookmark.

It was a small, magical photograph printed crudely but effectively. And there, holding a black base guitar before any private parts, was the owner of said book. His moving self did not appear very happy with being there, but refused to move less he give himself more away. So he stood there, shifting weight from foot to foot and holding the guitar before him defensively and eying the camera and obviously whoever took the picture not just angrily, but with a tint of a blush on his face.

Padma dropped the book.

-----

Harry grabbed Heather, who was waiting outside of his class for him by the arm and pulled her in the opposite direction of the crowd moving from their classed toward the Great Hall. He pushed her into an alcove where a suit of armor had been, but was away being un-enchanted, as a wayward soul had attached itself to said armor and it had begun wandering around. And once here, he slammed his lips to hers.

She looked at him inquisitively once he broke the kiss. "Harry...?" She knew something was up with him by the far-away look in his eyes and the emotion he put into the kiss.

"I need you to promise me something."

"What is it?"

"If things get bad...If things get really bad and bad stuff starts to happen, I need you to promise that you will leave. That you will leave me and run, be safe." She looked at him for a long time. He had tears welling in his eyes, and there was a restraint to him that seemed as if he was straining every muscle in his body trying to hold onto the composure he was showing. He was straining a great deal, as the blood in his face drained a good deal, and all the veins along his neck and on the sides of his face were showing as he clenched tightly to his hold on his sanity. "Promise me!" Heather looked at him, the pleading in his eyes and answered with two words. Two words that made Harry feel so much better. And two words that were so...Heather.

"Fuck No."

-----

Harry slipped into a seat in the Great Hall to find the usual set up. Ron was completely enthralled by his food, as Hermione tried to read and eat at the same time, and Ginny was doing something with her wand, blasting the hell out of some blob of plastic in front of her while scowling angrily. Heather walking in a bit later, pressing at her hair some. If someone had timed it, from the moment Harry opened the doors to when Heather did, it was exactly 60 seconds, but it was a simple coincidental occurrence in the minds of everyone.

"Where were you, Harry? Class ended 20 minutes ago." Ron asked as he chewed some of his food. Heather plopped down next to him and put some food on her plate, before hitting Ron with a spoon as he tried to grab more of the eggs as she was going for them.

"Talking with the Headmaster..."

"Snogging in the corridor." Hermione cut him off as she spoke.

"What...?" Harry started.

"Oh come on. Her lips are bruised and you have a fuzzy pink hair tie around your wrist. You came in 60 seconds to the mark apart, and for future reference, pink lip gloss isn't your style Harry. Maybe a purple for your skin tone, but not shock-pink." And Hermione said all of this without looking up from her book.

"Damn you Hermione." Harry muttered good-naturedly. "We did go talk to the Headmaster however, although it was much earlier today and apparently I am going to be heading back to Number 4, as the property's Wards are still up and connected to me. I have to recharge them so they don't fall, therefore making the house visible to Voldemort. Going on Friday, and Heather is using her once a month home visit privilege to go with me so that I can not be alone, and so she can go see her family."

Hermione nodded before turning to her book. She seemed to read one more thing before motioning for Harry to look over at the book. He leaned over and looked to the writing that was placed there, and his eyes flew open.

-----

The mind and the soul are often connected to one another. Because of this, consciousness is often times associated with something having a soul. It is thought that animals and things not human lack a soul, however, in the Native cultures of the world, especially the Aboriginal people and the Native peoples of America and Africa, that thought is disputed and proved wrong. It is believed that, because of this fact, associated with the theories and thoughts already stated here, Disembodied Souls are not necessarily human.

In fact, it is rare.

Because of this, should someone be able to make contact with such a Disembodied Soul, said soul often would not communicate on the same level as that person, be the soul mentally higher or lower that the person connecting to it. However, soul to soul, it is easy for souls to communicate, almost on another plane of existence.

This is thus where the problem would lie.

Soul to soul, should somehow someone find a way to take a soul and Attach it to something, or more, someone, that already had a soul, that object or person would in turn have two things controlling it.

With this example, we should look at a person with two souls. This could, in turn, cause that person to gain mental abilities and such from the souls within in.

But at the same time, all pains, weaknesses, memories, and deteriorating factors would therefore be cast upon that person.

However, it is in fact rare that mutual weaknesses are held, and therefore, it is almost a guarantee that, should someone be able to connect another soul to their own, their own power would spike.

Thus is this case of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named, and his quest to find the soul he wishes to use for his own means. And sadly enough, it took some time to weed out his spy from the ministry. And due to that, that spy was able to gain information on this topic.

At all costs, this must be avoided.

But I fear it may be too late.

And if it is, I fear the only way we may beat him,

Is by doing the same thing.

-----

Harry was about to say something when he felt someone watching him. He looked up to find the Headmaster eyeing him oddly. The twinkle in the man's eye was evidently gone, and that was clear even from far away, and in its place seemed a slightly mad glint. It was edging on frightening to look at, and Harry was unnerved by it a great deal. He looked to the man for another moment before turning away and back to his friends.

He spoke to Hermione some about the uproar in the muggle community about the mages, and also found out from her that reports from home had stopped listing information on the topic, and she had checked to find that her mail was being tampered with. From what she had uncovered by removing the concealment charms, the wizards and witches had since attacked a muggle community and taken it over, setting up shop there and hurting many a muggle that eyed them the wrong way

On the muggle side of the fence, people died for much less. The Leaky Cauldron's general vicinity was blocked off and surrounded by a muggle barricade-like setup, the muggles calling the wizards who came from there "terrorists" or "anti-throne heretics" and such things, many of which made no sense. They were seen as a threat and were allowed to be killed on sight.

There was little word on how it all began.

But as they sat there, enjoying lunch, a mass of owls flooded the halls. And a rain of Daily Prophets came, dropping one before each and every student. And each student withdrew the paper from their lunches to the same damning headline.

"Minister's Daughter Killed by Muggles, Minister fudge declares war on muggle 'oppressors'!"

Harry groaned as he dropped the paper and lowered his head into his hands. The shit had hit the fan. Murphy's Law was in full effect, and never before had Harry wanted to find someone named Murphy more and bash his skull in with a cricket bat.

The ending line on the cover page proved to be even more damning. "Muggleborns must pick a side, cut family ties or be ejected from the magical commune forever!"

And as the hall read this over, an uproar began, and the loudest voice from across the wall started a literal riot. Malfoy. "It was a mudblood that killed her! Kill the mudbloods."

And Harry reacted. He stood and ran toward the Slytherin tabled. The blonde had stood to shout that, and was taking high-fives and congratulations from his Slytherin comrades, and did not see Harry run up the Ravenclaw table and literally dive-tackle Draco from his feet across the Slytherin table, and onto the floor on the other side of the table. Harry's head was first up, and his fist was seen coming up soon after. And with a slam, Draco Malfoy's head bounced off the floor after being hit by Harry's fist, and then his fist was back again.

Dumbledore leapt up like a man possessed. He ran over to Harry, being the only one that could sense something wrong more than Harry beating up Draco Malfoy. Several people could see the anti-light aura that was surrounding Harry's body but not a one could pull himself up from his seat. Dumbledore rushed over, to grab Harry's shoulder. His wand was long forgotten as a source of force, but he pulled Harry's body back. The black-haired boy reacted much as if the older man's hand had in fact burned him.

And deep in Harry's eyes, no one seemed to see that it was in fact a feeling deep in him that seemed to be resonating. In truth, it was no longer Harry Potter that was eyeing the professor. At least, not as much as one would think.

Necros was back,

And no one saw it until the Anti-Light DarkLance appeared in his hand. "Keep your hands to yourself old man." Dumbledore looked taken aback by this darkness in the boy's voice. "You made this happen, and I can't prove it, but it was you, you did this!" and the DarkLance was to his throat. And it made contact for just a slip, and in that slip, the concentrated nightmares of one Harry Potter, the nightmares he had had for the years of his life that they had plagued him, flooded the mind of one Albus Dumbledore.

And turning from the old Headmaster, giving Draco Malfoy's body one last kick, Harry headed out of the hall. Heather had been in shock by the flash change in his aura, but had snapped out and was walking with Hermione, who had broken into blaming herself for this reaction, and was running through all the reasons why it was, in fact, her fault that Harry was getting expelled, which she was sure he was in fact going to get. The Head Boy can't dive-tackle a prefect in the hall, and then pull a weapon on the Headmaster.

The weapon was a whole other concept for Hermione, who's mouth and brain were both working much to fast for Heather to even bother trying to keep up with, she had gotten lost 4 topics ago, and she wasn't trying to catch up anymore. She just walked with the girl back to the dorm Harry had, and entered to find the boy sitting propped up against the headboard in his bed, a pillow clutched to his chest and a full-powered pout on his face. And he appeared to have fallen asleep as such.

Heather sat on one side of the bed, and Hermione the other. Heather began brushing Harry's hair from his face as Hermione pulled out a pillow and started to try and rearrange Harry so he was laying down. She looked to the scar on his face, the long, thin scar that ran along his eye. "I never got the full story behind that..."

"Door Knocker to the eye. I think it awkward how something so simple injured him, after all the things we have seen him go through and survive."

Hermione answered as if it was simple, just a side note. "Protection wards also work as a dampening charm on someone's body. If you are in a place with heavy wards like that, they can cut natural resistances to things to ensure that the protected one if fully protected as themselves."

"That makes no fucking sense. He survives all these attacks, but gets a damning scar from a doorknocker."

"True." Hermione answered as she brushed some of Harry's hair away from his face. Tears began to run slowly as she looked at him. "He's going to get expelled, all for trying to defend my honor. I always tell him and Ron how stupid it is to attack Malfoy over it, and Harry was so good about it, but...I worry about his anger, how it takes him over. Its...started to change him. Ever since last year."

"Changing him a lot more than I realized. When he ran like that, I swear he was like another person. There was this...warping...his aura, it, it contorted, it wasn't...real." Heather muttered, looking for words.

"What do you mean? Are you saying...that wasn't Harry?"

"No, it was Harry. Its been Harry as long as I have known him at least. Its always been there. But...it...it was almost like, by reading his aura, it was pure anger and hate. Indignation. He was so very angry over that comment. I mean, I believe he very much wanted to kill that dumb shit. I have only seen him that mad one other time, and I never want to see it again after this."

They sat there silent for some time before Heather spoke as she was searching for a blanket. "You know he loves you. Maybe not in the way that would make me worried, but...you mean a lot to him, you are like his sister. And I don't think he would rather have not done what he did. He was glad doing it, and it needed to be done in his mind."

Hermione put her head down some before brushing back Harry's hair again, and smiling sadly. "Funny how the love for this one person right here can bring two enemies together. Old enemies. But now...let's say this. Between me and you, I highly doubt that anyone else is capable of getting to the real him. I know he's true around you, I could tell when he started talking about you when he came and saw me during the summer. And it hurt for a long time. I was always hoping our friendship would grow to something more. I figured I would be the only one that could get him to be true, to be him around me. That would get that look from him.

"But I wasn't, and that hurt. And then with you...but, it makes him happy. You make him happy. And if anyone needs happiness, its Harry."

Heather looked to Hermione and smiled. Her eyes were growing teary as well. "And I know I could never replace you, and I wouldn't try. You have been there since day 1, known him as long as he has known himself in this world of yours. Me, I'm just some random girl he met from down the street under the most stupid circumstances. I'm not his best friend. And I am fine with that. I am content being his girlfriend, being a good friend. And I can't replace you, I repeat that, nor do I have the intention of doing so.

"We are just two girls...completely caught up with this guy here." She patted Harry's shin for a moment, tears on her cheeks as well as Hermione's as they both watched Harry sleep. "We need to start a Harry Potter Support Group."

"No, because then we would have to deal with the Harry Potter Fan-Girls and worst of all, Cho." Hermione joked.

"Never! I'd either die, or kill her, or both." Heather laughed.

And with a locking of eyes, Heather and Hermione smiled at each other. They were sisters, sisters of the same cause, and they were kindred. Connected through the sleeping raven-haired teen that sat between them.

-----

And in the Great Hall, which was cleared out, sitting on the floor where he had once stood, trying to figuratively make a stand to the boy he had thought he was protecting all that time, Albus Dumbledore sat.

His white beard was knotted and tied, and his hair was tangles and draping him. And on the floor beneath the clear sky reflected on the ceiling of the Great Hall, the Headmaster of Hogwarts cried. He wept like a man who just lost all around him, a man whose world just collapse all around him.

And in his weakened state, Albus heard a voice. It was not his own, but it radiated power, and sounded much older and wiser than him.

"_You were right."_

"No..."

_Fine, you were wrong."_

"Yes..."

"_Very wrong. Too wrong. You deserve what you got. And I laugh at your plight. I mock you with all of my being."_

"Who..." Albus began thinking he had truly lost his mind when he was hearing voices.

"_Shut it you old bat. You aren't ready. Go about your life, and try not to screw up the boy's brain any longer, I need him. And if you screw his mind up anymore...well, better yet...keep going. It will make him play into my hands much easier. Like demented, sad putty in my hands, to shape to my will. To become my puppet..._

And then the voice was gone, and Dumbledore was left wondering what he had just heard. What had just happened.

And deep within the heart of the castle, hidden away from everyone, far, far away from the surface and all the inhabitants of the castle, a lone figure sat. Solitary mental focusing was good to keep busy, and that was the activity of choice for the past few centuries. It had been many more years before that, possibly millennia, but that had been the activity of choice.

A smirk slid across the figure's lips. Mission accomplished. By that time the next month, the world would be in chaos. And the one affectionately mentioned as Harry Potter would be the only one that could save it. And the only way to do so,

Would be to damn the world he had called home.

And with that nincompoop Dumbledore playing so well into the plan, the plan he originally had no factor in,

Potter was sure to give the great big middle finger to all things magic.

And that was exactly how it was supposed to go.

-----

_**A/N: New Chapter, New Fun!! A hint as to the plot developing. This story is seriously going to toe the line between the views of good and evil. Things are going to get hectic, get crazy, and get very, very awkward at points. But I assure you, I have the plot planned completely, and everything is going to reach a climax that will shock a lot of people.**_

__

**_The return to Surrey will be next chapter, where Harry and Heather get to see all the others again. A few things have changed between the Summer Crew, and many things will be realized that no one will have been able to know unless they read the beta to SoH: Deleted Scenes, as the little bit or Lemon-like adult fiction is overshadowed by hints of plot developments. I am going to expose all of these plot points either before DS comes out, or after, but always in the main story so the little kiddies who can't read NC-17/ High R stories will still get the story._**

**_Ok, so, at the moment I have no idea of what is going to go on with SoH:DS, but if u would like to see what is done, IM me. Emails about progress are helpful and are great to get, thankies peeps. This story is going great in my mind, and I might need names for some new DA people as well as some people for another organization. Not good, very evil in fact. So, if u can think of some, or maybe want to see your name in there as some evil little shit, send me some notification, and I'll see about it. As a warning, you probably will not survive, or at the very least will sustain injury, but its all good._**

_**Goddammit!!!111!! Senior year is creeping up on me, and if it gets here too soon, SoH may be on hold for a month, depending on how productive I can be in these next 2 weeks. That's when school starts. And I so don't want to go back. Damn you high school! But...I guess I am almost done, eh?**_

_**Peace peeps,**_

_**Mad Love,**_

_**TK**_

_**Oh, Ashley, I love you as well, this chapter is for you, among other things and peoples. AIM people, yo!**_

_**Now, for the updates on the 1 ChapterProject...ok, just check the profile, it says it there. But I think I will put some excerpts from each story here, give you a glimpse:**_

-----

**Slytherin Queen, **

**Chapter 1: Damn, **

**Rating: R for Language and Sexual Situations**

-----

Me?

I'm just your...well, not so average Slytherin.

My name is Blaise Gabriella Zabini. Tell anyone my middle name, and I will make no hesitation in pulling whichever sexual organs you happen to have from wherever they are in your body out through your mouth. Be it nuts or ovaries, I will pull them out through your mouth, then feed them back to you.

But, its ok. This is just between us.

Right...?

Yeah, thought so.

Further information will have to wait. I slept late, and I have some preparation to do. September 1st is a hectic day in this household, as everyone tries to get ready for their various happenings. Auntie has to get prepared for the trip to Hogwarts, as do I. Can't be late to my last year, now can I?

Something no one can ever know, is that Minerva McGonagall is actually my Aunt. She is my mother's sister, and although no one has ever put it together, I want it staying a secret. It wouldn't go over too well for the Slytherin Queen to have Gryffindor relations.

That would be horrible.

But enough of others, back to me.

You see, the Slytherin Queen...I, Blaise, must wake up 4 hours before I am due for the Hogwarts Express to even be prepared as I am to head off into my adoring public. It takes a lot to get one's hair perfectly layered and teased. It takes a lot to get these damned half-blonde, half-mahogany strands of hair into a style that is manageable for the whole day.

And it also takes a lot to rid myself of these damned freckles.

Yes, freckles. Make a comment, and I swear I will kick your ass from here to Shanghai. And that is a promise.

A curse from my mother's side, I must blot out their existence like pesky insects, to ensure the furthering of my career as the poster-girl for Witches' Weekly. No one wants an imperfect model to look up to.

A normal person would feel bad about deceiving all those people. But I am a Slytherin.

And I don't give a fuck.

Instead, I blot them out of existence, and then head on my way. I arrive on the train before everyone, staring at the wonders that someone with a stick of wood could do. The amazing ways that the connection with the earth through magic can allow us to ride this train so far, to read the castle where we are taught our own connection, instructed in our own bond to the earth. Our own bond to the planet beneath us. Around us. That we are as much a part of it as it is a part of us.

Damn I sound like a fucking sappy Hufflepuff.

Oh god I just gave myself a vomiting session there. Hufflepuffs...the people that have no point in existing in life. Yeah, sure, you may be looking at me as some kind of evil bitch for saying a whole group of people shouldn't live, but it's true. Ravenclaws, they can think stuff up, and make plans in war. We Slytherins, spies and all around sneaky, conniving bastards (and bitches in my case) are good at...everything. And Gryffindors, what of them you ask? Front Line. They can run their courageous asses out front, get blasted to all shit, and we can take it from there.

And their little god, Potter, can fucking lead them.

The front runner to the front line. How fun a thought.

Now, I have nothing wrong with the little bastard of a savior. None at all. I just hope he takes Voldemort out, and goes too. I hate that fuck of a little "Dark Lord." I could do better with a flu, personally. And I mean, come on, "Lord Voldemort." It sounds like a fucking Grocery Store. I mean, I wonder at times if I should ask him for paper or plastic.

You are looking at me weird, aren't you? The Slytherin hating the fucking "Dark Lord." Sounds...off, huh?

And I mean, if you knew half the shit I knew about the all-powerful Voldie-Mart, you would have no respect for him either. Like...take the fact that he wants to have an heir. An heir to defeat Potter should he not be able to. First of all, that is a huge shame, a grown-ass man afraid of a fucking 17 year old.

Then the fact that he wants to breed with Bellatrix. Now, the woman is not ugly, quite pretty in a morbidly-gothic evil way. But, when you take these two pale, skinny fucks, and have them...well...fuck, you kinda end up with some very frightening results. Like, will the baby come out allergic to the sun or something? Something like that muggle entertainer, Michael Jackson perhaps. He performed in London not too long ago to have millions of people there to see him...Why I asked. But I digress.

Now, if all of this is not odd enough, here comes the breaker. The...The fucking funniest thing I have ever heard in my life.

You see, for all the magical power that Voldemort supposedly has, for all the magic that he uses to control other people, the man(if you can call him that) can't control himself. Or more...parts of himself. To put it simply,

He couldn't maintain an erection if it meant killing Potter by doing so.

-----

**Heir of the Moon, **

**Chapter 1: In The End, **

**Rating: R for Language, Sexual Situations, and Intense Violence**

-----

Linkin Park.

The most wonderful people in the world. Anger music kicks mega ass. And when you are angry,

It is a god-send.

And was he ever.

Literally, furniture was hitting walls, glass was shattered and mixed in with the carpeting, and blood painted the walls like some kind of post-modern display. The heat in the room was making the pain a pallid face of impending Death.

And lifting the bat once more, the handle stained with blood, and the wood cracking more and more, he slammed the bat through the expensive oak and glass table, breaking it in half. She wanted her little divorce, then she would be getting half of everything. Literally.

And with a dark glint in his green eyes, he turned to the door. Even over the screaming of the song "Papercut" in the background, preparing to click over to Hybrid Theory, he heard the keys in the lock, and thanked the neighbors for insisting on the sound-proof paneling that made it so she couldn't know what was coming.

And as the door clicked open, oddly enough, "In The End" switched on with the CD shuffle on. She walked in to the low, haunting intro. It was almost like a soundtrack, like a play where the actors have entrance music.

"You know the irony of this? I mean, really. After all of those years of you wanting me. And then wondering if I was cheating on you while I waited for you to graduate, you cheat on me." He was absurdly calm as he paced, his eyes never on her as he dragged the bat across the floor, his blood from his hand spiraling down and making a trail as he moved. And with the glass cutting into his bare feet, little partial-imprints of bloody footprints showed his path.

Her bright blue eyes widened. She tossed the red hair over her shoulder, wondering what he was talking about. And her eyes widened as she surveyed the place that had been their home for 4 years. And the bloody red hell the cream-colored room had become.

"Justin and I..."

"Justin and you nothing! Shut it! Shut up and listen to me!" He shouted, slamming the bat into the wall. She flinched at his loud words, and the hole the one-armed swing put in the wall she had spent hours using every trick she could find, some involving sponges and glitter, to decorate perfectly.

"Harry..."

"Shut up." Were his simple words. He looked at her from the corner of his eyes. She knew he was stuck in a world of blurred images and confused beliefs. Well, not confused. She had, in fact, just come back from a rather awkwardly satisfying session with Justin and Terry Boot. And she could tell he knew that.

"I mean, am I not enough? Not good enough or something? What do you want from me Ginny!" He shouted, the bat slipping from his hand slowly, and seeming to fall to the ground in slow motion as Ginny watched. "Damn it Gin! What in the fuck were you thinking!" And even Ginny didn't know the answer to that question. "Answer me!" he commanded, but behind the yell, there was pain and there were tears waiting to be allowed freedom, to stop the burning the anger caused.

"I...I don't know...but Harry!" and before she could finish whatever she intended to say, his fist did the job of the bat and slammed into the wall. And as fate would have it, it found one of the studs, the wooden supports in the wall. His hand shattered, but no pain from that showed. No, all the pain on his face was from her. Caused by her.

He stood there, staring at his shattered hand, as if in disbelief and complete understanding at the same time. She tried to head over to him, but the second her hand came close enough to touch him, his eyes jetted to her and narrowed darkly. And that was the first time she had ever seen Harry look truly dark. Truly...not him.

And she pulled her hand back, covering her mouth as she saw that. And he walked around her, magic radiating off of him. He swung his hand and the door to the house swung open. Ginny heard it slam soon after, and then crack, splinter and fall from the frame. And she sank to the ground, tears racking her to the point that her body was convulsing.

-----

Hermione Granger lived her life on a schedule. And anyone who knew her knew that about her. Every night around that time, one would find her en route to her flat from the local library, as she spent time there researching several topics, intending to find a connection between muggle science and magic, to pull the two together. To find a way to cover the weaknesses both held.

And she always timed her walk home perfectly. So perfectly that the timer on the coffee machine clicked on with just enough time that, the second she entered the flat and had her coat off, the coffee would be done and perfectly hot and waiting for her.

That day, her coffee got cold.

For as she got to the flat, she looked and saw a dark figure in a cloak seated on the steps leading to her flat. She slipped her wand from its place on her wrist, approaching cautiously, before she noticed something. Blood leaked from the person, which was very odd, as she could feel the magic radiating from them, and therefore knew that whoever it was, they were powerful enough to heal themselves.

And as she got closer to the person, whose head was down in their hands, the person spoke in a voice she would have recognized if it had been one hundred years since she last heard it instead of two. "It's me Hermione."

She would know that voice in a crowded stadium of screaming people. She would know that voice if it was a mere whisper in the wind. She would know that voice if she was deaf. But when she was silent, she figured he assumed she didn't know who it was. So he looked up, his emerald eyes meeting her hazel ones. "Its Harry."

And she looked at him, blood from his hands staining his face and his clothes. She gasped as she saw his hands, and especially his right hand, which she could see was broken even from where she was. "Holy shit Harry, what happened to you!" She gasped. He smirked despite himself at that, and she grabbed him and pulled him with her into her flat.

And as she did, she noticed a few things. First being the fact that he lacked shoes. The second was that he was losing blood. Fast. He was growing cold, and the light that was usually in his eyes was fading all too quickly. "My god Harry...what happened? Where is Ginny? Is she okay?"

Harry scoffed at this. "Ginny? Probably getting her brain fucked out by Terry Boot and Justin Finch-Fletchey." Hermione gasped at his crude language at the beginning, swatting him, until she heard the end.

"What happened? You two broke up?"

"You can't exactly break up when you are married. And I didn't know she was doing it until...hmm...two hours ago." And as Hermione looked at him, she watched as his eyes started to fade.

"Harry..." he groaned, blinking as if regaining consciousness, before he looked at her. But as he did, he was fading again. "Harry!" The yell didn't work so well that time. She reached out and shook him. "Harry Potter, you open your eyes this instant!" But his eyes did not open. They were closed.

And that morning, as the clock flashed 12:03 am, July 31st ironically, the moon seemed to bleed overhead, turning a dark blood red for a moment. And Hermione Granger broke into tears as her long-time childhood friend officially died on her couch on what would have been his 24th birthday.

"Ginny, I am going to kill you." Hermione said resolutely. It was not a threat, it was not a joke. It was a fact. And if there was one thing Hermione knew, it was facts.

-----

**Emerald-Eyed Angel, **

**Chapter 1: Bloody Raindrops, **

**Rating: R for Language, Attempted Suicide/Homicide and Violence**

-----

"Then explain it to me!"

"No. If you want to find out what I am saying, then figure it out Harry. Read between the lines."

Harry stared at Hermione, confused by the events that had just transpired before him. 5 minutes before the conversation had begun, and before he had entered the common room, he had been secure in his relationship with the bossy bookworm he was looking at. He had been perfectly fine with their semi-dating situation that was open to allow Harry to find a girl that was comfortable with more than snogging between study sessions.

That had been before he walked in on the girl in her Head Girl room, half-naked, sitting atop the half-naked body of his best friend. Before he had watched as they both angered at him, screaming about privacy. Yes, before he had been able to get out the words he had been debating over for a long time, they had forced an entirely different statement from his lips.

Where Harry had gone in there intending to engage in a real relationship with the girl, and had meant to come in professing his confusion, but slight belief of his love for her,

He ended up screaming, very loudly, "What the fuck!"

Yes, and after a 4 minute conversation after the girl pulled a shirt on, one that Harry recognized as the shirt Ron had apparently been missing for some time, it all came down to one thing.

Hermione had been "cheating" for a good long time. And she was telling Harry to get over it, and let whatever it was that they had die.

Then she proceeded to request Harry's exit from her room, before she mounted Ron again.

-----

Harry didn't cry at all. He didn't get mad, he didn't even get confused. No, his eyes clouded over, and the bright green was lost behind what looked like cloud cover.

And Harry sat on his bed, staring forward, utterly shell-shocked for a good long time.

About 11 hours to be exact.

Ron came in the next morning to look in, to check on his friend, and saw Harry still sitting where he was. He walked over to his friend and waved a hand in front of his face, wondering what had happened. But no response came as Harry stayed, sitting there simply. Ron called his name several times, but the boy stayed sitting there, his hazy green eyes never moving to acknowledge him.

Thinking Harry was bitter or something, Ron patted him on the shoulder twice before he turned and headed out of the room, walking back toward Gryffindor Tower.

Harry saw nothing of the encounter. He had sunk deep into the depths of his own mind, wrapped softly in the protection of ignorance and half-living, of denial, to escape the emotional pain he was feeling. But even that close, soft protection could not stand up to one thing.

The pain of Hermione's logic.

And he came face to face with that as he slowly stood and headed out of his room to clean himself up before he went to inquire about checking himself into St. Mungo's before he caused damage to himself or others.

"Harry..." Hermione's voice was hesitant and soft, coming from the frame of her door. Harry's steps faltered, and he stopped. He didn't look at her, but she knew he was listening. "Harry, you have to understand why I did this."

Harry made no move to listen to her any longer. He continued walking toward the bathing room of the Head Boy/Girl common area. Hermione followed, unable to understand him. She didn't to want to give up. And inside his mind, Harry begged her to before her intelligence led her to say something that would further damage the situation. And Hermione did not disappoint.

"Harry, you have to understand. I figured it all out. Harry...you. You have to see, Ron is...safer."

This knocked Harry clear out of his depressed silence. "Safer. How so." He didn't ask. It was a statement. "Why? Because he isn't number one on the list of ever Death Eater in the world out for revenge for their fallen master?"

Hermione didn't have to answer. He knew that was it. And that was all Harry needed to know. The girl made to leave, when she heard Harry speak. "You know, great job Hermione." The girl turned to him and looked in question. His back was to her still, as he spoke. "With all of your calculating, you seemed to have missed something. Forgot to factor in, with the danger of being my friend and the safety of Ron, that choosing this outcome has one downside."

"Harry..." She had an idea what he was going to say.

"You didn't realize, that, you lost me." And with those words he pulled of his shirt, and turned on the water in the shower. He didn't turn and look at her, and sadness welled up in her eyes, as she turned and ran from the room, tears clawing at her eyes.

-----

Harry entered the shower, and reveled in how the hot water seemed to wash away all of his problems. All that mattered was how it felt on his aching body. How it seemed to clean away the pain from his soul, even if it was for just a little bit.

He had had a friend over the summer on Privet Drive who he had met because no one wanted to be near her. She was a short Asian girl by the name of Celine, who had moved around the corner from him, and they had met in the park. She was very reserved, and one day Harry had seen scars on the tops of her forearms. And it was then that he found out about Cutting.

It wasn't a good practice to have, but after the pain he had been forced to go through, some slits with a razor-blade and watching the blood leave from his body seemed to calm him. It was nothing compared to Cruciatus, but it had its own section of pain in his mind.

It had been a long time since he had last cut. But he felt the need. Holding out his hand, he forced his magic out, using his pain and his anger as a focus in a wandless summoning charm the brought to him his razor he used for shaving. And he slammed it into the tile wall, and after a few slams, it fell apart. And he bent and grabbed the razorblade.

As he thought of were to cut, he wondered. He replayed Hermione's words. He was a burden. He was putting everyone in danger by being around them. He didn't deserve her. He didn't deserve happiness. He didn't deserve to live. But he was alive.

He intended to change that, though. And flipping the razor in his hands, he brought it slowly across his right wrist, watching the blood pool on his upturned wrist before it began to leak down either side of his wrist and fall to the tile floor beneath him.

Mimicking the motion to his other wrist, he stabbed the razor into the soap bar and then just leaned against the wall, letting the water fall along his back as he watched the blood leave him.

-----

But as he stood there, letting the water rub along his back, a sharp pain in six points along his back hit him. Harry stayed standing during the first wave, but as that one washed away, another, more powerful one, hit him.

By the third wave of pain, which was getting far up, soon to pass Cruciatus, he had fallen onto his knees under the spray of the water, his mouth opened in a silent scream. His vocal chords had long seized up from the pain, and his brain was shutting down.

And as the darkness came, Harry felt the skin on his back tear open. And suddenly, as his brain shut down, he was missing the feeling of the hot water on his body. It was a fleeting thought of his mind, which was lacking all sanity, but he wondered why.

And around him, blood was washed from pure white as Harry's body was blocked from the rain of the showerhead.

Blocked by 6 feathery, blood-stained wings.

-----

**Of the Shadows, **

**Chapter 1: Under Shade's Veil, **

**Rating: R for Violence, Graphic Language and Sexual Situations**

-----

It was dark.

It was darker than should have been possible for that time of day, so dark that the retina of the eye could not receive any light, and the darkness was complete and all-consuming.

The tendrils of the darkness had wrapped around her mind, entrapping it in a cage of darkness that took over each sense. She could smell it, she could taste it, she could (i) _smell_ the darkness that was holding her as much as she could feel and see it.

It was 1:30 in the afternoon for Christ's sake.

And Petunia could not see a thing in her own house.

She walked in the front door, her groceries in hand, to find the house a literal pit of shadows. No light came from anywhere, and the windows were blacked out with the curtains pulled closed. She dropped the bags, the carton of eggs sending its contents all over the floor. But she was long past the thought of her purchases and their state. Her eyes were instead trained on the cupboard under the stairs. That was where the darkness seemed to be leaking from. For the door seemed to have its outline glow a white color that contrasted with the darkness of the house.

And Petunia's fleeting thought as she turned from her own door and fled was,

What has that damned boy done this time...

-----

**The Life and Times of Draco Malfoy: June 9th, 1980-July 31st, 1996**

**Draco Thomas Malfoy was found dead, slain by the Killing Curse within his own home, Malfoy Manner, on the night of July 31st, defenseless and lain to rest while still clothed in his sleeping attire.**

**Of the boy's murder, one Marcus Flint, an old Quidditch teammate of Malfoy's said of the date, "It's Potter's birthday. The malice between the two was renowned throughout the school. And to me, it looks like Potter went out for a little...killing spree upon his birthday. Getting rid of his enemies. And he began with the one who could have taken him down. Draco."**

**The Ministry has issued a Questioning Warrant for Harry Potter, who was unable to be located at the time of this post.**

-----

It had been short work of Harry Potter from there. With a Ministry Warrant, Harry was apprehended and hauled off, where he was slammed with one-sided questions concerning his lack of love for Draco Malfoy, and was all but made to look like Voldemort himself before the Wizarding Counsel. Dumbledore did all he could to help Harry, but there was a solid case against him.

The nail in the coffin had been the testimonies of people he knew. From the testimonies of his friends, telling of the numerous confrontations between the two, and enemies, thoroughly blowing the hatred out of proportion. Pansy, who was in tears the whole proceeding tried to make the D.A. out to be some kind of Anti-Slytherin association that harassed Draco often. But the hardest hit to Harry's case had been from his own "family."

The Dursleys were called for testimony, being that they could confirm or deny Harry's whereabouts that night. However, also being muggles, the Truth Potion could not be used on them legally. And therefore it was left to their goodwill to tell the truth.

And anyone who knew the Dursleys like Harry did knew, Harry would be making himself at home in an Azkaban cell in no time.

The problem was, as Vernon sat looking at a room full of the "freaks" with their wands all within reaching distance of their persons, he realized that it was Harry's hide or his own. Because the truth was, Harry couldn't have done the crime, because at the time of the murder, the time of his own 16th birthday, they had had him locked up in the cupboard under the stairs, unconscious from a particularly sound beating Dudley had given Harry. And if word got out of that, Vernon was sure the threat he had received would come upon him, and he would be feeling more pain than his nephew felt every night in his apparent nightmares that left him bleeding and twitching.

So, he did the logical thing. He lied. "We let the boy...Harry, we let him out that day, as a birthday present, letting him roam the town with some money in his pocket and no set curfew. He didn't return that night, and he walked in the door the next day as the sun rose. I asked his condition and he told me to 'shove of' and went up to his room, threatening to...magic us if we bothered him." Vernon glanced around, hoping his story would be believed, hoping it would cause them to take the boy off of his hands for a while.

It did more than that. It cemented the fate of the silent boy that sat there in his seat, quietly observing his word crash in around him. Yes, it cemented his life. And Fudge seemed tickled as he announced the sentence himself, literally ripping the parchment from Dumbledore's hands.

Life in Azkaban.

And he was taken away. No fight in him as his head slumped to his chest. None at all as they took him across the water and tossed him from the boat onto the sand, face first. The fall shattered his glasses, and the glass cut into his face. But he made no sound, even as the Dementors came and circled his downed body, glancing down at it before lifting him and taking him off to his cell.

-----

That had been 3 years ago. Years that everyone had taken out from their lives to secure in their minds that Harry Potter, The-Boy-Who-Lived was, in fact, a murderer. Years that Lucius Malfoy used every day of sneering at Potter from down the block of cells and cursing the boy's continual existence. He would sneer as Potter ate none of his food, as the boy laid there, twitching and shaking in his pain.

But the pain had stopped after a few months. Lucius wondered about that. The Dementors still pained him with the feeling of the Summoning of his "Master" every time they came near him. And the Dementors seemed to find a nice, calming post to rest right outside of Potter's cell. But he didn't cry out. He didn't make any expressions. And it was rare anyone caught him moving.

He just laid on his back, the stone slab with a fading cushioning charm beneath him as he stared up at the ceiling, his broken glasses long gone and his once bright eyes clouded over.

-----

Lucius was sure the boy was insane. He knew that the day before, when the prison fell. The day that they had been emergency relocated, the prisoners moved elsewhere, where the guards were no longer Dementors. The boy had actually waved good-bye to the Dementors that had tormented him for all those 5 years, as they were chased down by Patroni from the Aurors who rushed in to move the prisoners before the Dementors officially changed sides and released all of the Death Eaters.

He knew the boy was insane their first day in the new prison. Where the guards were normal wizards. The day the boy had knocked out his lunch guard somehow, taken his wand, and broke out of his cell. He knew the boy was insane when, as he ran down the cell block toward the steps, he tossed the wand in to Lucius as he ran by.

It would come to his attention soon after that, even without the wand, Potter had somehow slipped out of the makeshift prison and go on to escape freely. And break out of the one place more secure that even Azkaban had been.

The Dungeons of Hogwarts.

-----

January 1st, 2000 was an interesting day for the Wizarding Community of England. The world even. For, as the world awoke to the dawning of a new millennium, they also awoke to the dawning of a new world. A new, free place to live, as fear seemed to leave them all for no reason as they awoke. But they would find their reason as, at around 9 in the morning, the alarms to the Ministry Wards sounded. Aurors apparated in quickly to find a sight none of them expected.

On the ground, body bound, gagged and unconscious, was the one known as Lord Voldemort. And sitting on his unconscious and prostrate body, drumming on his knee with two wands, was Harry Potter.

"You know, you guys are so slow on the uptake, if I was this git here," he kicked the body under him, "I could have broken in and knocked off half of the inhabitants of this building before even the fastest of you got here.

"Sad, sad, sad..."

-----

**Pain of the Savior, **

**Chapter 1: Exiled Runaway, **

**Rating: R for Graphic Language, Sexual Situations and Violence**

-----

He hadn't cried in years.

It wasn't a lie, it was the truth.

And the last time he had cried had been the last time he had felt loved.

And the first time he felt free.

He had crumpled into a tired and depressed heap as his wand fell from his hand, stained red with blood.

The wand had been stabbed through the heart of the one formerly known as the Dark Lord, and Harry had been the one to do it. Been the one that had finally put an end to the vile creature. And there, in the middle of the Quidditch Pitch, the place he always felt the safest and happiest,

He fell to the ground and cried.

That had been years before. And he hadn't touched that wand since. He had refused. At one point, he had actually went rigid and fell to the floor, his mind closing in on itself, and his body losing all life before them all.

It was a bad combination. Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder coupled with a case of Survivor's Guilt that was further hampered by a Hero Complex. Translated into less psycho-babble, he was stressed out by an event that he felt guilty for surviving and felt like a failure for winning, but "letting" people die in the time it took him to do so. And this was eating away at his brain.

In simple terms, as his therapist had put it, he was mentally...fucked.

But the Wizarding World had no idea of all of this. No. The moment Voldemort had fallen, parties broke out all over. Hogwarts was a gigantic drunken orgy for a week after.

And not a person even visited Harry in the Hospital Wing. Not a person came to even see how he was doing. Not Ron, who had found himself between Luna Lovegood and Lavender Brown, and could not "be bothered to drag himself' from their willing bodies. No, he stayed where he was, locked away in the room he had gained thanks, solely, to Harry rejecting the Head Boy status to see his friend achieve his dreams.

Not Hermione. No, not when she was locked away in the library, the only quiet place from the loud music, the drunken dancing, and the decisions everyone would end up regretting the next morning. She had locked herself away, reading up on how she could now change the world, as she had shown them all what a muggle-born could do during the final battle. She stayed there, reading her eyes away and writing some dissertation to hopefully gain admittance into some higher-learning facility.

Not Ginny, Neville or even Cho, all of whom had had their asses saved by the boy that laid in the hospital wing as they partied. No, no one cared about him.

And he had more than enough time to think about that for the 7 months he sat in the Hospital Wing.

Physically, he was fine.

Mentally, Harry Potter no longer existed.

And he would never exist again. He had died in the final battle, or more, the fatal blow was landed then. And the pain increased as he laid in the hospital wing with no one there for him.

And the moment he was let from the Wing, he had stood up, grabbed his things, and physically dragged them away. And the castle watched as he turned and looked to the castle one last time before he made his way to the train, and left the school.

And from there, he went to Gringott's, and left the Wizarding world with enough muggle money to make him certifiably insane to be walking down the street carrying it. But who would expect a frail, albeit tall boy walking down the street with a trunk to be carrying within it enough money to actually buy several small islands and have enough security that no one would ever make it within miles of him.

But he did none of that. He hopped on a plane, and bounced all around the world for years.

Harry Potter was dead.

-----

Harry knew he was truly a lot different when he had found himself reclined in the chair of one Dr. Robert Granger, D.D.S. When he had actually been helped by Hermione as she sat behind the Reception desk, clearly paying attention to other work.

It hadn't been his intention by any means, biting into a hard bagel and chipping a tooth had landed him in that office. But showing up and seeing them had helped him some. Had helped him not to feel guilty at all about leaving and not returning to their accursed world.

He didn't get an owl from any of them for a year, and the one he did was so shitty he laughed out loud in the lobby of the coffee shop he had been seated in as he read it. The patrons didn't regard him much, they all knew him after the time came. Wasn't hard to forget the guy with the British accent that sat by the window over a cup of coffee, 26 packets of sugar, 3 creams.

He was a regular there. He hated America as much as he hated the Wizarding world, both were about as fake as the other. But it was refreshing. He knew, with how Americans were, even if someone recognized him on the street, they wouldn't say anything about it. They wouldn't gape, gawk or otherwise make a jackass of themselves in public. If anything, he was tempted to shout out "I'm Harry Bloody Potter!" Just to hear someone shout out "Who gives a fuck!" as he had learned was a very popular phrase when one made any type of declaration.

It was also a new one of his favorite phrases.

Harry had been happy being the random, rich foreigner with the long black hair, the bright green eyes and the newest in technological advances as he sat in his favorite coffee shop. Happy being no one more than who he decided to be.

And then the world caught up to him. Grabbed him around the neck. Literally. He had been on is way out the door of the coffee house, planning for a walk around the area before he got to his car and drove back home. And then he felt insistent arms on his own that pulled him into an alleyway.

"Potter."

And Harry turned around to see a thin woman with black hair and the English accent that he had made his niche in his coffee shop playing across her lips. It was no longer serpentine and dark, but it was not bouncy and happy as all shit. That made him happy, but the woman who was behind it didn't.

"Lestrange."

"Bellatrix actually."

"What do you want." He stated more than asked. It was not him asking for an answer, it was a demand, and it was a statement that told her he didn't care much for her. She had saved his life in the final battle, turning on her master to make sure that the pain Harry endured over the course of the final battle was not enough to kill him, but she was still not high up on Harry's list of favored ex-evil Death Eaters.

"I have come to find you. You see," She took a seat across from him and pushed his laptop screen down, "you won, which is all well and good. But you see, in that process, you became the most powerful and feared person in the Wizarding World." Harry's eyes showed how bored he was. "And I have come here to ask, no, to beg you to...protect me."

"What the fuck..."

"I am hunted, and you are the only one who can protect me...no, us."

"Us?"

A tall, pale-haired woman walked into the coffee house meekly upon Bellatrix's beckoning. She had the same gray eyes as the woman across from him, and a sad, set smile on her face, pleading. Narcissa Malfoy.

"And why should I do this, and mind you, this is taking a lot to even hear you out. And why me?"

"Because Potter...Harry, because Harry, you are the last one we can go to. Everyone turned their back on you, everyone has turned on us. We are kindred." She swallowed deeply. "As for why you. Well, you see, you have power. You have a lot of it, and with the training and the use of it, you could rule everyone and everything around you." Harry was not amused by the power aspect that she was trying to play off of. And she could see it. So, she presented her Trump Card. "It will allow you to show everyone who turned their backs on you."

Harry knew what she was saying. She was telling him he could be the next Dark Lord. He could take over. He could see through her.

And with a sip of his super-sweet coffee, he smirked at her and her sister. "Sounds like fun. Well, let's head out of here." And as they exited, Harry began to whistle some kind of tune. When asked by Bellatrix what the "infernal racket" was, he answered, "It's a show called Pinky and the Brain. And it seems fitting. We are, after all, about the try to take over the world."

-----

Well, there we go. A look at all 5 stories, and feel free to leave in a review or an email which stories you are looking most forward to. No plans on when to post these, but I am working on them between SoH and AM2.

Peace.

_(RIP to Rick James. He was a great performer and a cool person I had the pleasure to meet some time ago, and it saddens me that his life is extinguished and his talent his reduced to the simple statement of "I'm Rick James, Bitch!" Chappelle is cool and all, but He was so much more than a "Bitch" at the end of a sentence, some Mary Jane and the song MC Hammer jacked to make "Can't Touch This". That's all, thank you.)_


	18. Chapter 18: Polarization

-----

**_In case it was forgotten, I still don't own too much of half a shit. But I'm trying to get my greedy little hands around an idea that hopefully will take me from fanfiction writing into getting fanfiction written. But until then, I'm still just a 17 year old trying to get some thoughts out._**

**_And now, on with SoH 18...Uh...A/M at the end:_**

-----

Harry got up in the morning of his trip home with a loud sigh. His eyes were cracking open into a sea of hair he recognized as Heather's. He stretched his arm out over her, slipping it around her waist and pulling her against him. She groaned in her sleep before her eyes opened, and she scowled at him. "Just because you wake up at the crack of dawn, doesn't mean I have to."

"Its 12, for your information." He responded. Her eyes flew open and she jumped up, in panic. She had a training session at 7 am, and then they were leaving for Privet at 9 am to reset the wards and they would be returning on Monday. She looked around for a clock, her eyes passing the window to realize something. There was no midday light streaming through, only the darkness of the "Witching Hour". Turning to Harry, and his grinning face, she growled loudly before pulling back and slapping her open hand upside his head.

"That's domestic violence, I should report you."

"And if you did, I might have to move back to my room, and be restricted from being to close to you, as it might happen again." She left this threat open for him, knowing what she was working at. He growled and wrapped her up in his arms, kissing her some more.

"Fine, I'll be silent this time..."

-----

And after all of that, waking 7 hours before her training session, Heather was still late. She ran into the transfiguration room to find McGonagall sitting on a table, swinging her legs back and forth, transfiguring a desk from said object into a number of different objects and creatures, including a stone statue of Harry at some point. Heather had never thought of the woman as one to have nervous energy, as the display seemed to be showing that fact to be not true.

Heather cleared her throat politely, and the woman jumped slightly. She turned to Heather and smiled in acknowledgement. Heather wasn't convinced at the look on the woman's face and asked, "Are you alright, Professor?"

The woman nodded, before seeming to think about it for a moment. "Actually, I am a bit nervous. You see, I have had a history of only teaching what I can do myself. I make it a point not to expect too much from my students, never expecting of them more than I can do myself. I admit that in the case of Mr. Potter, I have not done this to an extent, as have we all, but with you it is much closer to my heart, as it is I, and not the Fate of this world, that has effectively damned him to something of a Catch-22 situation."

"What do you mean?"

"Today we begin the basics of Projection. And here I have only theory to teach you, and it will, I fear, be a dangerous topic to cover if my teaching is not quality enough to allow you ability to understand what you are doing.

"And I fear I may fail, and this fear arises before we have even begun."

-----

The trip back to Privet was quick and should have been relatively painless. Had they not, of course, landed dead upon a good deal of the "summer crew". It would have been comedic to see, as the Portkey was set to deliver them into the living-room area of Zoe's house, which was just outside of the barrier against Portkeying in the area.

They had warned the "crew" to this intent, but they seemed to have all been thinking to surprise Harry and Heather. The end result, they were all there to be a giant cushion for the two as they landed.

J-Roc groaned as he attempted to pull himself, and further more his head out from under the large bass guitar case that had landed on him. And Zoe and Kirstin had the responsibility, it seemed, of catching Heather.

Leaving Harry to be laying on the base of his neck, his legs up in the air in a oddly comical position. After the girls got up and flipped him over, they all pulled him up, looking him over. He was still the same person, his hair had grown a slight bit, and he had put on a bit of weight, filling out his upper body a bit, but they all still knew it was him.

"Long time no see, Harry." J-Roc greeted, the boys slapping hands. Harry greeted his good friend, before pulling out a notebook and slapping it into the boy's hand. Harry turned to look at all of the girls, smiling to them. And in doing so, he was mobbed and tackled to the ground. Zoe and Kirstin were the main ones, them looking up at Heather before making it a bit dramatic thing as they both leaned down and slapped big kisses on him. Harry groaned and finally got away from them, before they all reclined in the living room, on the couches and even the floor. And the questioning began.

"So, how is our innocent little Heather doing since the last time we saw her?" Zoe asked, stroking her hand through Kirstin's hair, almost as a nervous habit. "And how is it living with our resident hottie?" J-Roc stuck his tongue out at her, but looked to see his answer despite it.

Harry and Heather made a consecutive blush, and Heather turned and looked away, while Harry simply leaned back and attempted to pull his hood up. This would have been an effective mechanism had Heather not been sitting on Harry's lap in the loveseat that they were both so familiar with. "Well...well, thanks to this 'hottie', little Heather isn't quite so innocent anymore." She said with a spiteful smirk on her face. And while she had her fun, Harry sat there, the most uncomfortable he had ever been. Because every person in the room was looking at him as if he had stood up and shouted and began a seizure-like dance.

"Oh..."

"...My..."

"Chicken." And everyone looked at J-Roc. Zoe had begun, Kirstin continuing, and the only other male in the room not being grilled had completely thrown it off. And then they saw why his outburst. He was yelling to Shannon for the kind of sandwich he wanted, who was, for her part looking like she was trying her damnest to resist the urge to flip him off.

She failed.

Everyone laughed, and Harry mouthed a "thank you" to his friend for distracting everyone from he and Heather.

-----

Soon enough they were all out in the back by the pool. J-Roc was looking through the notebook Harry had given to him with a look in his eyes, while Shannon laid there beside him, looking over his shoulder. Zoe was relaxing next to Kirstin on one lounge chair, while Harry and Heather were on the one next to them.

"I would have never really thought you two would be back together this fast." Zoe said. Kirstin swatted her arm, telling her quietly that it was a rude comment, but Zoe shrugged. "What, she fucked up. Its true, she knows it, I know it, and I _know_ Harry knows it. So it wasn't rude, it was true." And with a smug look, Zoe, ran her fingers through Kirstin's hair, before just grabbing a handful of it, wrenching her head back, and slamming her lips to the other girl's.

Harry hadn't seen them act so outwardly affectionate toward each other in public. Of course, through personal experience which still brings a very pained look to his face, he had private showing of what they were like together, never before a crowd. And as Shannon came back in chewing on a ham sandwich, nothing else in her hands, she proceeded to leap and land on J-Roc's lap, snuggling in before offering him a bite of the sandwich before simply rolling her eyes at his blatant refusal of the meat.

"Jewish family, dipshit."

"But are you one?" she responded.

"No, but that doesn't matter. Raised not eating it, and I won't fall off now."

"And I was raised without strawberries, allergic. Act like you would much rather have me _not_ have started with them." And with a deep blush, J-Roc growled low in his throat and leaned over her shoulder, taking a bite of the sandwich and chewing it as if he expected to kill over and die any minute.

Harry laughed at this, and this seemed to return everyone to their situation." Now J, wasn't Heather completely out of her mind when she broke up with Harry, and completely wrong?" J-Roc nodded as he attempted to steal more of the sandwich without moving as much as possible, his hands resting the girl's hips.

"Alright, fine, I fucked up. Yes, I, Heather Thomas, _Fucked the Fuck up!_ Alright! But does it matter at all? I love him and he knows it now, and the past doesn't matter." And as Harry looked at Heather, she seemed to realize what she had said, and blushed deeply, before her head was pulled back and he kissed her.

And as their kissing deepened, there was a loud cry from what seemed to be the collective body of everyone else in the room, "ORGY!!!"

-----

But there would be no such thing, as, only about 5 minutes into all of the couples on the floor making out, they all had to stop their actions in a much deeper state of undress than before, as they were interrupted by a man clearing his throat. And looking up, shirt missing and one hand around Heather's bare waist and the other hovering just above her breast, Harry had the urge to keel over that moment. There, standing before him, was Albus Dumbledore.

"Well, Mister Potter, it seems this is an inopportune time, I shall head to the site, and from there, leave it to make your way there when you are...um...finished."

And with that he apparated away, leaving Harry paralyzed. For a good few moments, he stayed in the same position he was in, and Heather waved her hand in front of his face before Kirstin stating, "I think he has gone into shock."

"What would you expect? What would you do if Mister Williams just appeared here and caught you all doing...whatever you all do when we are gone."

"Oh..."

"...Damn."

-----

Harry and Heather headed down to Number 4, Zoe and Kirstin opting to stay behind, and Shannon heading with them, while J-Roc had to do something for his father apparently.

So during the walk, Harry took that time to get to know Shannon. "So, you and J-Roc, huh?" She nodded, her streak of pink now a streak of purple, which looked oddly fitting somehow. "How the hell did that happen?" He looked to Heather and told her, "I saw that coming about as much as I would see Ron and Hermione hooking up." Heather, however, shook her head.

"The likelihood of Hermione screwing Ron on a regular basis behind your back seems slim to none at this moment, so its not exactly the same." Harry gaped, but Shannon just smiled.

"Yeah. Well, its really awkward to me how much I love him, and I never expected it to come. But...it took me a long time to realize, through a lot of stuff. Not all of us have the fairy-tale story like you two, and some of us have to go through the rain to get to the rainbow."

Harry looked at her. She almost sounded resentful, but the look on her face almost said that she would almost rather have had it that way anyways. "Sounds like someone I writing a song without knowing it." Harry smiled to her, and she grinned sardonically. Suddenly, heather jumped and grabbed Heather and pulled her out to the street, removing something from her pocket. Shannon's jaw dropped and she looked in disbelief, and it was then that Harry knew what was being shown.

"Oh hell no!"

"Ah shut it, Potter. This is hotter than hell, and about 2 times more fun." Shannon said, smirking. She took the picture and turned, heading back to the house, and Heather just took Harry toward the house.

-----

The gist of what Dumbledore said was that he was going to be using a reduced area memory charm, and make everyone in the general area have believed there was building going on during the time since the fire. This would explain what was to happen, as they magically constructed a home to set the wards to. Harry and Heather stayed close to Dumbledore as he raised his wand and muttered some incoherent words that Harry had a sneaking suspicion wasn't in English or even Latin.

And after a moment, he lowered his wand and smiled, before waving his wand in a long a drawn out gesture, and before them, stood a house not dissimilar from the one Harry had grown up in. Harry's jaw dropped, and he began to ask about the conjuring, and how he had heard that it faded after some time, but the old man simply smiled. "It was not conjured, just hidden until the memory charms were set."

Harry nodded, and Dumbledore smiled at him before turning. "I will leave you to fixing this to your specifications. I fear I was quite booked for the day, and have other matters to which I must attend."

And as the man disappeared from view, Harry and Heather looked to each other. Grasping her hand, he walked to the door and gripped the handle. And with a deep breath and a sigh, he flung it open. Looking inside, he found little there. He could tell that there had been menial attempts at furnishing, but nothing more. The floor space in the front room surprised him, as, without the humongous sizes of his Uncle and his Cousin taking up space, as well, as the large furniture needed to hold them, the room was fairly large. And it was then that he realized that it wasn't the missing men as much as the magically enlarged floor space. Not enough to shock someone, but enough to allow some added breathing room.

"So, how much magic _can_ you do?" Harry asked Heather. She shook her head and plopped down on one of the loveseats, Harry growled and set to work.

He lifted the loveseat Heather was sitting on, even as she sat on it, and carried it to another point across the room. Heather applauded, but didn't move, and Harry simply glared. Removing his shirt after a while of sweating, and conjuring a radio by which to work, he achieved a good deal of work. However, there was still much to be done, but as time passed, his mind drifted from the slow rock ballad that was playing and to other things.

Eventually done, Harry and Heather headed over to Zoe's.

Entering, Harry sat down and Heather laid herself across him, and they looked to Zoe and Kirstin. The two were kissing when the latter two entered, and were still doing so. Clearing his throat, Harry interrupted them. Or intended to. Attempting to swat whoever was there away, Zoe continued kissing Kirstin. Harry did it again, and again, he was swatted away. Being a bit louder got him flipped the middle finger. Heather smiled and rubbed his head before reaching down and grabbing her shoe off of her foot and launching it at the two.

"What!" Was the reply from Zoe. Kirstin smirked as she sat back, still calm, as the shoe hadn't hit her, but had caught Zoe full on in the face.

"Well, seeing as I have not been paid any attention to since I got here, I wanted to know the reason. I missed my 'Harem' as you all called it." Zoe got up from Kirstin's lap and Kirstin stood, before going and sitting on the arm of the loveseat Harry was on. She ran her hand through his hair, as Zoe sat on the other side. She leaned down and trailed her lips along his ear. And right as she reached his neck, Kirstin yanked his head back with a handful of hair. And slamming her lips to his, she pulled back as Harry yelped in pain. She had bit his lip slightly.

"Sorry babe, but we haven't seen you in so long, and we assumed you and Heather needed your time together. Your complaint is duly noted, and we will do all in our power to rectify the mistake." And with a wink, Kirstin stuck her tongue out and licked his puffy bottom lip.

Zoe rolled her eyes and muttered, "Last time I let you ingest the dictionary." Kirstin rolled her eyes before returning to running her hand through Harry's hair. Heather laid her head on Harry's shoulder while Zoe ran her fingers through Heather's hair and thought to herself.

She had always wondered why Heather had taken them being around Harry in such a way so well. It baffled her mind that, even being the girl's best friends, Heather still didn't seem to care if Kirstin and Zoe had their turns with Harry. If she knew about the way in which Harry was "de-virginized", Zoe wondered why Heather had yet to kill both of them.

Thinking of this, she took Heather's hand and led the girl out of the room for a talk. Heather was confused, but followed and turned to Zoe once they were outside to ask what was up. Seeing a serious look on the girl's face, she knew something was up. "Look Heather, I have a question that I need you to answer for me as truthfully as you can. I need this for our friendship to survive." Heather nodded, and Zoe continued after taking a deep breath. "I need to know why you never react badly to me and Kirstin acting so sexually with Harry."

"Kirstin and me."

"Shut up with the correction of grammar, just answer the question."

Sighing, Heather answered. "Look, its like this. I love Harry, and I just came to this realization recently. But I also love you two. You are like my family, people that I grew up with for years. I know you two, and I like to think I know Harry. You two are sexual toward him, and that is something I deem as a good thing. Its...its hard to explain. I guess you can chart it all down to...I trust you two. And if anything, I am fine with sharing him. I get him during the year as it is, and...I just...I guess I care about him so much that if I have to share him, I figure its better to share him with you two and not some random chick."

Zoe looked at her and tilted her head to the side. And with a smile and a pat on the shoulder, the older girl nodded. "You do love him." And with hr smile morphing into a smirk, she finished, "But that doesn't mean I won't _so_ do him." And looking at Heather close, Zoe leaned her forehead to Heather's. "And to let you know, you are like the sister I never had as well." Zoe winked here, "And I would _so_ do you too." And making a kissing action, Zoe moved her head from Heather's and walked back into the house. Heather felt an odd blush creep on her face, before she too headed in, to see Kirstin sitting firmly on Harry's lap, facing him. She had her legs bend and up on the arms of the loveseat, and her lower body incredibly close to his. She had her arms wrapped around his head tightly, and seemed to be trying to suck the life from his very body with how deep the kiss was.

Looking to Heather, Zoe smirked, before grabbing the girl and doing something both were surprised had never happened between them. And their lips met, and Heather felt this an odd situation, as soon she had taken some control, and as she leaned back some to look to Harry, she found both him and Kirstin looking at them. Lifting Kirstin by wrapping his hands around the girl's behind and standing himself, Harry carried her over to were Heather and Zoe were kissing by the wall on the entrance to the Kitchen. He put her back against the wall, and leaned to Heather, kissing her deeply. He locked eyes with her, and smirked before winking. Heather winked back, and she grabbed Zoe by the shoulders and slammed her back into the wall before slamming her lips to the girl's as Harry did the same. They broke the kisses at the same time and Harry looked to Heather and leaned to her and kissed her.

"I love you."

"I love you, too."

Zoe and Kirstin had had a moment as well, and then it was back to the current couples. Leaning over after breaking a kiss, Harry captured Zoe's lips, and as he pulled away, Heather watched in fascination as he had captured the girl's tongue stud in between his teeth gently, and let out a low growl before releasing it. Kirstin got a kiss in from heather after Harry pulled away and soon they all dissolved into kisses and each other.

-----

Awakening some time later covered in bodies not his own, Harry took a moment to contemplate what had all gone one. His fingers twirled through the hazelnut length of Kirstin's hair, as she had collapsed on his right side, his arm in between the swells of her breasts, his hand wrapped in her thighs. It was a weird situation he was living in, and it was an awkward thought that he cared not what anyone said about it, he was happy. And each girl around him gave him something that the other didn't, and something that filled in a need that he had. That filled in a hole inside of him.

Kirstin stirred beside him, rubbing her body against his arm and getting closer to it, her legs moving some, the friction increasing the warmth around his arm. Harry smiled and sighed softly. Zoe had, for her part, been awake for some time, just watching Harry. His dark hair had gotten fairly long, and pooled around his head well. She had always liked the contrast of Harry's look, his hair contrasted to his skin, which was still a moderately pale color, and his eyes just stood out, and would have on anyone. But on him...

He turned some and their eyes locked. She looked at him sweetly before placing her tongue stud between her lips. It was a nervous habit of hers, and she didn't expect him to do what he did. He leaned over and caught it in a repeat of the last time the two had met in such a fashion, only this time he caught the stud first and used it to draw her to him.

She didn't put up much of a struggle, and soon they had met in a simple kiss. Harry ran his fingers through her hair as well before looking to Heather, who was asleep on top of him. It was not uncomfortable for some reason, her weight not crushing him much, which he was thankful for. "You wouldn't dream of hurting her, right?"

"Never."

"And your nightmares?"

"My nightmares have no room for her now." And with a grim look, Harry looked at Zoe. "And if she ever made it into them, I would not have to worry about hurting her. I'd do all that is in my power to protect her." There was a glint in his eyes that showed Zoe that he was in no way playing. She nodded before running her hand through Heather's hair. Her hand caught Harry's, and their hands clasped.

"What about us?"

"I care about you both so deeply that it feels weird thinking about how life would be from here on if something were to happen to you two. I don't know why, but you two have both become part of me. Part of who I am. And I feel like I need you two as much as I need to live." It was touching.

Touchingly...Sappy. "Stop with the fluff. It's not you. You are losing your edge. And when you lose that, I might decide to not give you any anymore." She winked at him, and Harry rolled his eyes.

"Shut up before I decide to not give _you_ any." Zoe smirked and nodded.

"There you go." And she squeezed Harry's hand before letting her eyes drift slowly. Harry stayed awake for a bit longer, looking to the girls around him, clothing discarded, all down to the bare essentials. They could feel the heat of each other's bodies, and it was a warmth that lulled them all to sleep.

And with synchronized heartbeats, they all drifted into a dream-state, still wrapped in the euphoria of being together.

-----

It had been a great weekend with the women in his life, at least his muggle life. Harry's return, however, was heralded not by an orgy of anything, sex or even happiness for that matter. He returned to find Hermione and Ron arguing by the doors of the castle. The subject manner was one he cared not enough to even listen to, however, the second they spotted him, both asked him to agree to their stance. Rolling his eyes,

Harry walked by them, as they both protested to this loudly. However, Harry had other things to worry about, because, while cleaning his new home, he had come up with a question that he needed answered, and no one was to know what it was until he had researching it thoroughly.

He had been leaning against the wall, resting, when he thought of something. So, taking a hold of a wooden chair by the leg, he slammed it into the side of the wall. The chair exploded apart, splintered. Nodding, He transfigured one of the broken legs into a lead pipe. And slamming it into the side of the same wall, he noticed a dent in the side of the wall, and no damage done to the pipe.

That had been what had gotten him thinking. He took the same pipe and attempted to slam it into the side of the tree out back later, and watched the pipe bend. The muggles had a scientific theorem that stated that when an object pushes against another object, the other object pushed back. Outside of a few other issues, such as the material the objects are made of, the premise is the same. The one who pushes back the hardest wins.

And if that was the case, then that could mean something else. That could mean that, in order for something to be stopped, it only need meet something that pushes harder than itself.

And, that brought an idea to Harry's mind.

In order to stop the unstoppable,

He only need employ the immovable.

And that was the key to stopping Avada Kedavra.

And that was the key to stopping Voldemort.

So, heading into the library, he flashed his Head Boy badge that he had to dig out from inside his pocket, and headed into the restricted section. Taking any book he could find on shielding and protection spells, Harry checked them out and asked that they all be sent to his room. He had a lot to work on, and being as late as it was, he figured he could do it the next day, or when he got back from his first patrolling session, his last being cancelled as he had to get ready to leave for the weekend, and go over the schematics for the wards that would be tied to _him_ and no one else, with Dumbledore. The old man still pissed him off, but figuring that this was the best way to ensure that he would be able to get as far away from the old man as possible during holidays and when the year ended, Harry bared the contact long enough to get what he needed from it and nothing more.

It was decidedly Slytherin in truth, but Harry was not one to discriminate against a certain trait just because a bunch of other idiots personified it and were known for doing so.

-----

Harry's first patrolling session was uneventful to say the least. That was, before he started it. The moment it began and he found out who he was paired with, the hopes of a boring, normal night before heading back to his dorm, where he had left Heather reading one of his school books, was destroyed.

Blaise Zabini.

Seemed Isis had been forced to bail out on her assignment with Harry that night as Flitwick had needed a work with her on something or another. And because Zabini and Potter had been matched up, the younger sister had had to fill the gap for the older.

Oh how Harry hated crappy guidelines that had no basis in intelligent thought.

However, as they walked, Blaise surprised Harry with a question. "Potter, what of this Defense Association of yours. I have heard a lot about it over the summer as the idea has spread to somehow infest my family."

"Infest your family, how so?"

"My mother heard about it and is insisting on meeting you. She is also making it clear that she wants you as a "positive influence" for me, and will therefore attempt to betroth me to you. She is persistent, and if you continue to deny her, which you will if you want to keep that with which you piss, she will hate you and make your life hell until school is over." Blaise stated matter-of-factly.

"So...about the DA then?" Harry had been having a mind to start up the DA once more, but had no motivation. However, someone with the clout in Slytherin house, Blaise could pull many a snake into the mix, if with nothing more that her obvious confidence with all things male. Her chin was raised as they walked, and, looking at her, Harry had to admit he didn't care for her as a person very much. "Why do you want to know?"

"Because that shit Malfoy is starting his own segregationist anarchist group, calling for the segregation of muggles and magic. And that is putting it nicely. Truthfully he wants to kill the muggleborns and then take purebloods and halfbloods and forcibly breed them into more magical forces." She was quiet for a bit. "And they intended to start that attack with muggleborns at the school. Tonight, during patrol. That was, before you punched the little rat's teeth out through his throat, as a figure of speech."

She walked ahead of him some, as he stood there, gaping at her. "Good bloody job." And she continued walking.

As they walked, Harry heard a very weird sound. It was the sound of giggling. He turned and looked around, but found nothing anywhere around him. The sound continued for some time before it annoyed Harry so much that he went to find where the nagging noise that was chipping away at his sanity was coming from. As he rounded a corner, he looked to see a small group of girls, none in his year, some in 5th and others in 7th. And they were all standing around in a huddled formation that lead Harry to believe that whatever was between them was either incriminating or embarrassing to be guarded from view like it was.

However, Harry was unable to investigate further, as there was a shaking of the castle beneath his feet, once, and then again in a moment. He pulled himself off of the castle wall he had leaned against in the shaking and made his way to Blaise, who had in fact fallen altogether, hitting her head on the stone floor. He checked her, attempting to wake her before he just lifted her up and made toward the Hospital Wing. The castle continued to rock on its foundation as Harry attempted to run in a straight line, which wasn't working out too well for him. He wasn't very happy when he was running fine and then a shift of the castle led him into running head-first into a wall sconce, effectively splitting his forehead along his right temple. With a low curse, he stumbled to his knees, setting Blaise down before leaning back against the wall.

He allowed himself to sink into his own mind, trying to get the pain from his conscious. However, as he started to lose the world, and the image of Necros and Caliburn began to materialize, there was a deep cold. It felt almost as if it was the cold of a Dementor, but it felt...wrong. Harry looked around, expecting the "Dream Dementors", only for the two souls he had gotten so used to having within him, begin to fade. And the world he had fallen asleep inside was once more appearing before his eyes.

And it was in a haze of failing consciousness that he heard a voice. A soft, drifting voice that sounded do old and yet so young. _"I could make it all go away. Make it all...disappear. All of it, the hate, the pain, the anger."_ Silence. _"The Magic."_

And as Harry sat there, the pseudo-Dementor seemed to stop. And it stood there, as if awaiting the answer. Harry knew that the voice wasn't coming from the creature however. It seemed to be coming from everywhere and nowhere at once.

And this pause that allowed for such a clear thought also allowed for a flaring up of energy within him. Harry hated manipulation, and he was being manipulated. He knew that for a fact. However, he refused to let it continue. His anger flared and his hand shot out. And through the Dementor. His hand had shaken with the Anti-light, but as he looked at it, it was covered in such. And it was spread all over his arm as well. And he felt something in him as he ripping into the creature before him, the body of the thing seeming to burn away from his arm, a solid hole around his arm, inches between his arm and the rest of the body of the creature. And as he looked to his other hand, the other hand was covered. And looking down, his entire body was covered in such.

The Anti-Light had over-taken him, and there was a cold-burning ripping through his body, but nothing unpleasant. Actually, he felt no pain. Nothing bad, or good for that matter. He felt power, and simply that. Yanking his arm straight up, he tore through the creature's body, seeming to burn it like someone had stabbed a burning knife into a sheet of parchment and was dragging it upward. Before the blade could even touch the parchment, the heat had burned it away. That was what it looked like.

And then with another slash of his hand, which seemed oddly claw-like in the fingers, the creature was no more. And as he looked around, he saw the world differently as he looked out of the haze of battle. He was seeing...weirdly. He had read that the human mind worked sight by the comprehension of reflecting light molecules into the brain. However, the only way he could see how he was seeing was...by seeing through the darkness. It was almost as if he was seeing everything inverted, but perfectly the same. The world looked similar, but anything hidden in the darkness was clear to him, and everything seemed to have an appearance of being organized. He couldn't describe it, but he knew that, if anything, his night-vision was so great, he could have seen into the night as if it was day.

And as the battle haze faded, his body seemed to return and slowly he was seeing normally again. His eyes hurt as if he had been in the dark for a long time and someone had turned on a light, and he thanks the stars that the torches in the corridor weren't too bright. Looking down, he saw Blaise still unconscious, so he lifted her up and, this time at a walk, he took her to the hospital wing. He expected Pomfrey to fret about his head wound, but found that she made no note of it. And, upon looking in a nearby mirror in the bathroom, he found that it was no longer there. The blood was gone, as was the wound.

Shrugging, Harry turned and headed out of the room, back toward his dorm.

-----

Harry awoke the next morning with something of chip on his shoulder. He had heard something concerning him through his unconscious ears, and had a feeling that he knew who it was.

"So, you are telling me Shannon and Justin are together! How the hell did that happen?"

"Not sure, but outside of that and the little meeting between Harry and the rest of us girls, nothing noteworthy happened. Though I do have a sneaking suspicion that something happened to him during his patrol last night. He came in with a haunted look on his face, as well as this energy radiating off of him, remember the warping? Well, that was there, but it seemed to have overtaken his entire body. It was so weird, I slept so awkwardly."

"And I have a sneaking suspicion that said person is listening to this conversation at the moment."

"You know me all too well Hermione." Harry said, sitting up and smiling. He ran his hand through his hair before realizing how long it had gotten. He had realized that it seemed like every time he had used the power, something physical about him changed. Usually it was his hair, but as he got up, he felt a weird sensation within him. He had a huge headache, and knew not of why. He growled low and slammed his body back, his head hitting the pillow hard. Hermione ran her hand through his hair and checked his forehead for a fever, as Heather rolled over and got close to him, purring into his neck in subtle content as she seemed to will him to be better.

And it was this scene that Blaise Zabini walked in on. She was speechless, looking as Harry laid in his bed being cooed over by two girls, one whom she had labeled a prude since the day she met her in first year, and the other an older girl who Blaise herself had asked about, wondering who she was, and had little answer outside of her being "Potter's Girlfriend." She had never, however, expected Potter to be in _such_ a relationship with said girl, or even Granger, who was starting to look less and less like a prude.

"..." Everyone was speechless. Harry wondered what Blaise was doing walking into his room without knocking or anything, Hermione wondering what the look between them was about, Blaise wondering what Potter was in the middle of, and Heather wondering what was going on. Finally someone found their voice.

"Zabini, what the hell are you doing just walking into my room like that?" Harry yelled, more as a need to vent about the awkwardness of the situation than at the girl he was yelling at. However, Blaise recovered quickly enough to be able to avoid more yelling.

"I couldn't care less if I saw anything of you Potter, I am sure I have already seen it, and more than likely, I have seen better."

Here Heather smirked to herself and mutter, just loud enough for everyone to hear, "Doubting it, girl. Seriously doubting it."

Blaise looked at her for an extended period of time before continuing. "I came to ask you about your damned D.A. thing. I need an answer, mother sent me an owl asking, and I am being forced to pick a side."

"Pick? By who?"

"By the Slytherins. Despite what you think, many of them do actually like you more than Draco. And I have to pick a side."

"So, stuck in the middle?"

"Not at all. Not at all. However, the others; they are being torn in different directions."

"I didn't think Malfoy and I could be that big a-"

"Not you, you arrogant prat! There are more than 2 sides here, don't you see? You aren't on Dumbledore's side, now are you?" Harry shook his head slowly. "You see? In this war, there are 4 sides. If Dumbledore and Voldemort," Here she shivered herself, despite it all, "are Dark and Light, then you and Draco are...the shades of gray. Granted, Draco may be a much darker shade, the little ferret, but yet and still, this war has gotten a lot more complicated."

Hearing this, Harry looked to Hermione. "Call a meeting. As soon as possible." And catching Blaise's eyes, Harry smiled a thank you to her before nodding his head toward Hermione. The latter stood and, with one kiss to her palm and then a slap of said hand to Harry's forehead, the girl headed out, Blaise right next to her, the two talking animatedly before the door even closed.

"So...the D.A.? Is my little Harry teaching Dark Arts?"

"No, nothing Dark. And little? Little am I?"

"Ok, shut up and go back go back at sleep."

"Make me."

And with that she attempted to do just that. And within some time, both were doing just that.

-----

The meeting was called soon. Actually, 5 minutes before Harry woke up. And upon seeing this, he dressed as fast as he could and headed out, Heather having awoken already, and headed out to a meeting with the other Teachers-In-Training. Arriving at the Room of Requirement, he entered to find the entire DA from the last year inside already, along with a few new additions. And oddly, Marietta was inside as well, despite being fairly hidden by the Ravenclaws from the murderous eyes of everyone else in the room.

Harry walked to the front of the room where Hermione sat with a quill and a stack of parchment, ready to write for the meeting apparently. And has Harry stood at the front, he looked out to the room. It was division. That was all he saw. The four houses sat apart, and even in that, there were cliques inside the houses. The Slytherins seemed to be banished to the corner of the room with no cushions for themselves, as the room would require them one, only for someone to want it gone.

It was angering Harry deeply. If they were fighting a war for equality, how could they be so divided? So, instead of getting into the lesson, Harry got everyone's attention by grabbing the front of Terry Boot's shirt and lifting him from the ground to his feet by his collar. The boy had been in the middle of some old folklore story about how all Slytherins either become evil or are used in a potion or something equally stupid. The boy looked frightened as he was suddenly on his feet.

Staring him in the eyes, Harry asked him, "Terry, do you like Slytherins?" the boy shook his head uncertainly. "Do you like me?" Terry nodded vigorously, a little too much to keep Harry feeling completely comfortable being that close to him, especially with the huge grin on the Ravenclaw's face. Letting him go and walked into the front of the room again, he turned and sat on the table before and said, "Then tell me, Boot, what is the difference between me and a Slytherin?"

"Well...you're Harry!"

"And?"

"And nothing!" The boy looked shocked at this question. "You are you, they are a bunch of snakes." Here Blaise bared her teeth and stretched her fingers out in faux-claws, and seemed almost feral as she hissed at him. This shook the boy some, to the point that he at least didn't say anything anymore.

Harry nodded before sitting on the desk that had appeared there for him, making the room seem like a classroom. "Did any of you know the hat wanted me in Slytherin?" Gasps arose left and right, and Blaise looked him up and don as if reevaluating him, before her eyes got glassy, and Harry had a sneaking suspicion she was imagining the last 5 years with him as a Slytherin. "Yes, and for years I lied to myself, listening when Dumbledore told it was my connection with Voldemort. I just realized recently that it wasn't. It was me, plain and simple. And I dare to say that if it wasn't for a chance meeting with Draco Malfoy, the arrogant prick, I would be sporting green and silver." And with a smirk toward Hermione he finished, "I dare say, I look like I was born for Slytherin." And the girls all nodded, imagining him in Slytherin green, which would bring out his eyes so, or at least that was what Harry heard as he listened to the whispers.

_**Aww...seems like our little Angel of Dusk has a fan club, even when he is part of a group labeled as the Scum of the Earth.**_

_Yeah. Isn't it just so horribly depressing that they find good in him even when he wants to be evil. Potter, I swear, if you don't grow up to be some kind of Do-Gooder, I dare say you could make a great con-man. People just...trust you._

Harry groaned as the two in his mind decided to speak up. He had almost forgotten they spoke, and yet, here it was again. Turning back to the group he spoke again. "Now, this is how it is going to go. Gryffindors are splitting up, better yet, all of you are splitting up. No house mates. We are splitting into groups of 4, one from each house. And if your group doesn't get a member from one of the houses, then it is in your best interest to start recruiting."

Everyone looked angry about this idea, and Ron was on the top of the list oddly. He actually stood and walked over to Harry. "Harry, don't put me with one of them. Please, I am begging you, be a pal..."

"Don't do this Ron. It will help everyone, and it has a purpose. You are going to have to get over this hatred. We all are."

"At least not with that Zabini girl. I heard some things about her."

Harry turned from Ron and spoke to the whole group. "We will all have focus groups, call them study groups. The DA is from here until further notice a big study group. You need help in something, you will ask your group. You will also all be researching a topic, because you all are...I am going to need each and everyone one of you to help me. Something is happening, I can feel it, and it is up to us all to defend ourselves. Because I will be damned if I owe Dumbledore a thing ever again."

There was a collective gasp before Michael Corner leapt up from his spot near Cho to almost shout, "So you are sided with You-Know-Who then! I knew it. I just knew it!" And Harry looked at Michael. From the last year, the boy looked much like him. He was a lot more healthy-looking than the Harry from the last school year had been, but with the styled-to-be-messy hair and the faint blue eyes, it was almost like looking into a faintly distorted mirror of the last year. But with the changes of the summer, the boy looked nothing like him anymore. And that was why it made it easier to hate him.

"Yes, I am allied with Voldemort. Yes indeed. Right now I intend to require the Dark Mark onto each of your arms, and also intend to give you my mark, so that I may control you all. Before the last year, myself and my god-father Sirius Black were Voldemort's secret right-hands, but when Sirius was found to be a spy and I was nearly caught, we pinned it on Lucius Malfoy and I got away scot-free." This was a war game. Loyalty. That and Honor are the two things that make the difference between a war, and a dual-sided, or in this case, a four-sided, massacre.

And there would be none in the room that were not the most loyal once Harry was done. Or more, once Necros was done. Because that was what he was built for. War.

The looks on many a person's face was almost comedic with their horror. However, what happened next was a morbid reminder of exactly what kind of world all of them were living in. "I knew it!" and Corner shot a Stunning Curse . The aim was off by a great deal, and as the spell splashed into the wall a few feet from Harry, he calmly walked up to Corner. And he leaned down and leveled his eyes with the other boy's.

"I said I wasn't on Dumbledore's side. That doesn't mean that I am on Voldemort's." He watched as the boy shivered. "You see, that is what is wrong with you pure-bloods. You don't seem to understand the fact that there are shades of gray. It is never black and white. Everything in the world is relative, everything but death. That is the one constant, and you would do well to remember that." And there was a feeling in the room. It was the polarization of the room. Because Harry had left one thing out. There was death, that wasn't relative, but there was loyalty. And that was close. There was no semi-loyal in war. It was all or none. And he could almost see who was with him and who wasn't. And the first person to speak up shocked him.

"Nice speech there Potter. And I must say that, if I have to fight in this war, I am damned glad it will be on your side." And Blaise walked over and shook his hand once in finality. She would be with him to the end, he could see it. Until the dying breath or the final shout of victory, she would be there. And Hermione nodded do him, standing from her seat at her own note-taking desk and walking to his side. And there she stood. And she would be there until the end. There were some that tried to join him, and Harry didn't reject them, but he made note of the people who where partially there, the people who would run when it got tough.

And then there were the ones who made no attempts to pretend. They were upfront about their allegiances, and they were with Dumbledore. And they were the ones who were left standing before Harry, almost like an opposing force, and they were led by Michael Corner.

And with a nice, long stare, the newcomer turned, effectively taking about a quarter of the DA members, new and old, with him. And more than likely, to Dumbledore. But Harry didn't care. He had his people, he had his troops. And finally, he knew where he stood. And he stood on his own, with no one else, never behind anyone again.

And splitting them all into groups, Harry soon had his group. And they had their platoons. And they had their assignments. This was war, and there was no time for pussy-footing around. "Death. It is a constant, and despite living for a long time, you will all die. And because of this, I think that it would be in all of our best interests to be able to listen to Fate and die when she says, not when some idiot speaks two words and a flick of the wand. And that is why we are doing this."

"Doing what?" Someone asked.

"That is why we are finding a way to stop the only way these idiots know how to kill someone. The only way they can stop us." And explaining his theory, Harry watched as Hermione's eyes lit up like the Christmas trees in the hall over the holidays. She just gaped at him in complete and udder shock before looking close to tears in amazement. Translating it magically, Harry watched as Blaise looked at him for a good long moment before shrugging her shoulders in complete display of good, old fashioned Slytherin apathy.

"If you can do this, then you will be awarded an Order of Merlin and all that shit. You will be a hero. And the father of the newest killing curse, as a new one will have to be created in order to get around this obstacle. That's what happened last time, during the creation of the 'Physical Shield' spell. It stopped the old killing curse, because that one, while much stronger magically than this one, worked only magically. And the shield literally destroyed its purpose. That is the one thing I will give credit to Dumbledore for. That spell was brilliant spell work. And if you can pull this off, I will be in shock."

Everyone gaped at her.

"What, I like History." Now everyone was really staring. "Not all of us are obsessed with potions. I hate them. History is my kind of class." More gaping. Even Harry was gaping here. "Oh go fornicate yourselves." And giving everyone the finger, she turned and crossed her arms. Harry smiled at his ability to finally see Blaise gotten to, but despite that, he still had to end the meeting before they were all caught. So, calling the meeting adjourned, everyone made to leave. However, he had a meeting to have, with the people Necros was calling his "Generals." Taking them aside, he sat there staring at them all. Hermione and Blaise on his right and left, and Hannah Abbot and Mandy Brocklehurst beside them. Padma Patil had arrived and was sitting there with a calm expression on her face, and Harry had to remind himself to talk to her after the meeting.

Seamus was another, but he had to run for detention, as he had early-morning detention for actually turning his water into rum. McGonagall would have been impressed had it not been for the fact that he was supposed to heat the water through transfiguration, or for the fact that he drank it. All of it. And was effectively drunk for the rest of class.

So, looking to them all, he cleared his throat before speaking. "You all here are...you will have to be the people I go to. The people I need to be on my side, and be with me through this." All of them looked slightly confused. "This is a war, and I need people that are going to back me up. Generals. I need people that are going to head this all up. I have a lot of things going on in my life, and I know you all do as well. So instead of one of us taking this all on ourselves, I need people to be there with me."

Mandy opened her mouth to ask about this, but she was silenced by Harry beginning to go into detail with his plans.

-----

Padma sat with Harry in the Room of Requirement. They had been doing the early morning meditation together for the past week, the first session after the first DA meeting, and every day since. The second DA meeting had gone amazingly, no hostility at all, and Harry was the most calm he had ever been, and no one but the girl before him knew why.

In all the time they had spent during the meditation, Harry rarely spoke. And it was amazing Padma how well he was doing. But at the same time, there would be times when the meditative Aura she could sense when on such a high platform of "transcendence" that Harry had would change. Just...change, completely. Almost as if she was sensing a different person. And this time, Padma intended to ask about it when it happened again.

And as they began and the change came, Padma attempted to reach out to Harry mentally. To ask what was happening. When two people are meditating in such a plane of mental existence, it was possible to communicate emotions. It wasn't anything like telepathy, just...projected empathy. Padma projected her curiosity and confusion. And she got a cool feeling before a sudden warmth in her almost shook her from her meditation. Breaking it off, she opened her eyes to find Harry sitting back, reading a book casually in a chair. And there, Padma almost lost it completely. She was sure she had felt him on the meditative plane, and yet, here he was, doing something completely different. No one had ever been able to...

"Hello."

"Wha...oh...hi Harry."

"I take it you are a little confused, I bet." Padma nodded. "Well, Potter's not in right now, can I take a message?" Padma gaped before suddenly the person before her shook his head, and his eyes seem to lose age, and he looked at her before smiling that so very Harry smile. "Hi!"

"..."

"Oh damn, what did he say?" And that was when Padma became the first person to find out about exactly what Harry was, exactly how he was so much the "weapon" he had once claimed to be. And she listened to the whole story, processing information into her head. She was amazed and shocked and intrigued and happy and sad and even angry at different parts, but soon Harry had literally just poured all the information of the events of the summer out to the girl before him.

And as he was finished, he looked up at her, his head having been in his head as he vented, and now she looked at him as he looked at her.

"Wow."

That was all she said before both of them locked eyes and Harry nodded and then they both headed out to their respective common rooms.

And with a weight lifted off of his shoulders, Harry smiled and sighed before heading into his room and flinging the door open. And as he did, he saw Heather standing with a long, thin stick of wood in her hand, and Hermione sitting on the bed behind her. Heather leveled her wand and shouted out the incantation to the Stunning Spell, "Stupefy!" And a small, slow-moving bolt of red light came from the wand and hit the wall a good 30 seconds later. She squealed, saying something about this being the first time she got it right, and Hermione, for her part, jumped up and wrapped the girl up in a hug.

They jumped around cheering before they turned in the hug to see Harry in the doorway. "Am I...interrupting something?" He couldn't decide how he felt about what he just saw, with Heather attempting to work some sort of magic, so he cracked a joke. This got him a playful arm punch from Heather and a full smack to the side of his head from Hermione. "No, seriously, what the hell is going on?"

"I...Hermione is helping me with thingy, Speedspell, or...what was it...Quikspell, yeah, that, so I can do some magic."

"And why..."

"I want to help. I heard about the issues and all the bad things happening and I feel bad that you have to deal with it all. I want to help." Harry observed her determination, her will, her drive, her sexiness...

"No."

"No?"

"No, you may not help." Heather began to protest. "Hell no. You are not getting hurt out there. I would deny Hermione and Ron and Ginny, but its too late and they are already in it. There is no out. For you there is, and I will not let you get out." Heather looked taken aback. "I will not put you out there as a target for him to get to me. I won't have you on the frontlines."

"So its all about you now?" Hermione asked, but Heather silenced him. She walked slowly to Harry, the wand forgotten and fallen to the floor, and literally attempted to tackle him as she hugged him close to her. Then, slamming her lips to his, she pulled back and caught his eyes.

"I am already involved. And I will be until the end. And that, _Mister Potter_, is how its going to be." And she gave him a frighteningly McGonagall-esque glare, and all Harry could do was nod before she kissed him again. And then he joined in the celebration of the non-magical girl before him pulling off a Stunner. Harry had it made up in his mind that she would not be playing the frontlines in the war, and Harry was intent to be as stubborn about that as possible. But no reason to ruin the moment.

-----

The next morning brought a dawn of interest into Harry's mind. Classes for the day were coming, and he would finally have his first Defense Against the Dark Arts class with the real teacher. The last week had been substituted by Dumbledore, a fact that had been duly noted, but never commented on.

Rolling over to brush Heather's hair back, he looked to her sleeping form. He placed a kiss on her forehead before standing and heading into the bathroom. He took a long shower, allowing the hot water to just run over him for a long time. He had a lot on his mind, and it was not helping being in the castle. Something about the magic in the air was putting him on alert, and hearing the voice around him and all of odd happenings going on before the year even began was unnerving him.

Suddenly the water cut off. Harry looked up and hit the shower head. It was a decidedly muggle thing to do, but he banged on it again and again. Staring into the head, suddenly it turned back on right in his eyes. This would have been an issue, sure, had it not been so much bigger than that.

Because it wasn't water pouring out of the shower head.

No...

It was blood.

Torrents and torrents of it. And the bath, the faucet, all of the holes in the bathroom were sprouting the red liquid. And with the charms put on the bathroom, the room was magically blocked in, to prevent steam and such from getting out, and perfectly soundproofed. And Harry had left his wand in his room.

Leaping up from the bottom of the shower, Harry ran toward the door. He slipped and fell and slid into the door. And as he did, rushing from the cracks where the door closed, blood poured all over him. And attempting to get up, Harry realized that in this few moments, the room was filled with blood up until the bottom of his knees.

Grasping the door handle, Harry made to turn it. But as he did, suddenly the door handle singed his hand, and refused to move. He held it until it burned too much, and as the blood slowly filled the room until the air was going and Harry could no longer feel like there was a point to fighting it, the Anti-Light flared up. And slamming into the door, his entire body aglow, the door groaned some, before lack of air got to him. And sinking down under the lack of oxygen, Harry's body began to float. But then suddenly, with and angry groan through tightly clamped lips, he slammed his fist _through_ the door, the blood spilling all down onto the light carpet, spraying out as he moved his arm, sinking down, admitting defeat.

Heather had leapt up at the chill she felt as the dark aura shot up in Harry. She had been going over marking someone's spirit, or their aura. And the first one she had marked was Harry, and she felt something going on. She ran toward where she felt he was.

Isis had been studying in the main common where the main bathroom was, waiting for Harry to come out so she could go in. She had been reading when she felt the room seem to heat some. She wondered if the charm was malfunctioning, and made to make a note to tell Dumbledore when suddenly it happened. A hand shot through the door to the Head bathroom, deeply tinged red, and slowly a thick, red liquid oozed down the door. And as it moved, a stream of said liquid was ejected into the main room.

Padma had been in a very deep meditative state that morning. She was exploring the Higher Plain when suddenly she felt something. The main meditative plain where she was exploring was something like an exclusive club for only those that had reached that level of transcendence, so she could sense everyone there. Suddenly she felt someone she recognized, and she pushed inquiry out. And all she got was panic and pain. And suddenly the feeling dimmed, easing out completely.

The thing about transcendence was that you can't really ever leave it. Even when not meditating, your mind is still connected to the plain. So when one's essence fades... "Harry!" And leaping up, Padma ran toward Dumbledore's office. She didn't know where Harry was, but she knew that wherever he was, something was going on.

Isis blasted the door after moments of every unlocking charm she knew. Heather had shown up and was damn near panicked into cardiac arrest herself. The door was blown in half and the blood that was above it spilled out, and running over to the door, they found Harry's body deposited over the bit of door left and left on the floor. Running to him, they both stared at him, his body stained deep red and consciousness long gone from his body.

Suddenly like a jolt running through him, his eyes blast open, as the Voice spoke once more. It wasn't consciousness at all that had hit him, instead, his body had just reacted. _Time is running out. Look at the blood spilled because of it...Because of this...mistake that was magic. It can all go away...It can all disappear. Just. Say. The. Word._

And then the pain was just too much anymore. And the magic in the blood seemed to flare up, and life faded from Harry's body. And leaning next to him, covering his body with a towel, Heather sat, staring at him. His eyes...something had happened when they had flown open. It was almost as if he were a different person. And the words he had spoken...What had they meant? And who were the words meant for?

-----

_**A/N: Ok, I know its been a while since the last update. Yes, it has, that is true. However, events beyond my control have caused an issue in the updating of the story. However, this issue has been rectified, and updating shall continue on a much quicker basis...hopefully.**_

_**Well, this chapter is the real plot. Something is coming, and someone is looking to make some big changes in the wizarding world...someone know one would suspect.**_

**_Anyways, I have the 5 story ideas done. I think I am going to put them all in one story with 5 chapters, and then the chapter(s) that get the best responses will be reposted and furthermore be continued. And the ones that aren't responded to as well will be postponed at the very least, until I can get some more of the ones loved out, as well as AM2 continued. A general thought to go on is, if people like Slytherin Queen, that story is already 3 chapters in, so updates will go fast, and Heir of the Moon has about another chapter partially done._**

_**Now, for some general thoughts...**_

_**Hmm...**_

**_Well, I am officially 17, my birthday just passed, a little bit over a week ago, which makes me happy. --Dances--- _**

_"A Dancing TK...not a good sight. I blame Starbucks and their damned caffiene..."-Kal_

**_No more being carded, like when I went to see Saw...which was a great movie by the way. Either way, I am officially fairly old, which makes it legal for me to post my little dives into SoH: DS, as the NC-17 nature would have been weird to write at 16, as I couldn't...legally...read my own writing. But now that I can, I will be doing double-time to get that all out. And maybe in the next chapter of it, the whole scene with Kirstin, Zoe, Heather and Harry can be explored. Also in DS, the truth of Harry's virginity is revealed, and exactly why Zoe and Kirstin are likely to get reamed for it should it come out._**

_**Well, not much else to say here, so, That's it!**_


	19. Chapter 19: Could This Be The End?

_**A/N: Still don't own, and now there is less to own. This chapter and some in the future may house bits and pieces of ideas from an anime entitled Fullmetal Alchemist. Sick ass show, and thus, something I felt the need to go into a bit. Great scientific idea, and still with that taste of magic.**_

-

Harry had been taken to the hospital wing, where he laid unconscious for about 5 minutes before suddenly he shot up, gasping for air. He was in a tub of sorts, as water pooled around him. He heard voices from the walls around him, and he closed his eyes and focused on them.

"…magic couldn't…clean blood…it was as if it was…" And Harry looked down at himself, to find himself submerged in a diluted red liquid, and then all of the memories of what had happened returned to him, and he sighed, running his hands through his hair before he felt more blood in his hair, and he laid back, effectively trying to scrape the liquid from him.

-

"I don't know what it is Albus. Analysis on the blood show that it is his, among others."

"Such as…"

Here there was a long pause, and Albus looked at the old nurse as she sighed. "We have records of blood of even you yourself sir. Of James Potter, Of even Godric Gryffindor himself. Whatever happened in that bathroom, it was not of young Potter's choice, and not of his power. However this happened, all we hope is that this had nothing to do with…He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named. For if he has power such as this…"

Here Dumbledore was silent, before he nodded and turned to head for the door. "When he awakens, please send him into my office." And with that, Dumbledore was gone. Pomfrey looked after him, and saw the look in his eyes as he had said that, and she sighed before looking to the door that Harry was behind in a tub, soaking off the blood, the only way that it seemed to want to come off.

-

Harry walked into Dumbledore's office, his mental guards up, as something in the way Madam Pomfrey had told him that Dumbledore wanted to see him had told him that something was wrong. She had come to get him while he had been laying in the cold water of the tub, trying to clear his head. He had this memory, and this nagging feeling of something coming. This feeling that something big was drawing near and, once again, it would all fall on him. And with the way the bridges he had built were igniting, and the way he had finally found happiness for his life, he knew that it was completely up to par with the way his life was going.

His only issue was the Headmaster. The man had steadily seemed more and more eccentric, more…strange if it was possible. There had been times Harry was sure something was influencing him, and other times that Harry was sure that there was something under the surface that Dumbledore was hiding, that was sure to make someone's life harder.

And Harry was willing to bet it would be his.

And as he stood before the gargoyle, he contemplated what he could do, what he could say once he got to the office. Saying the password, he climbed the stairs to see Dumbledore fire-talking to someone, but as soon as he made note of Harry's presence, the connection died abruptly. "Harry, my good boy…"

"Get on with it old man. What do you want from me? I have to head back to my dorm and get some kind of rest after this morning."

"That is actually part of it." Harry stared at him, wondering what was happening. The look in the old man's eyes told him that something was gearing up to leave the Headmaster's mouth that Harry would _not_ like. "You see Harry, I am going to need you to attend classes today." Harry's mouth flew open, just gaping at the man before him. "I understand what you have gone through in the last few house, but…"

"No! I don't think you fully understand."

"Now look here Mr. Potter! I have allowed you a lot of room to grow, to wiggle around between the walls of the rules that others are otherwise bound by. But you will recognize that you are _not_ in charge. And you must recognize you place in this world."

Harry's eyes narrowed, dark energy flashing in them. "And where exactly, _Headmaster_, is that place?"

Dumbledore looked slightly taken aback by this comment, with the undertone of danger in Harry's voice, instead he made to skip that train of thought and move on to another one. "You will especially have to attend Defense Against the Dark Arts class this afternoon.

"You will have to be the support block for your year, and it is important that you and the teacher get on a very good working relationship, for the sake of everyone. However, you will not be in that class as a student. You will be taking the NEWTs class with the 7th years, as your Spectacular grade has qualified you for advanced tutelage, thus after classes, extended lessons will be mandatory to prep you for your NEWTs at the end of the year."

Harry had spaced out, allowing his mind to draw in all of the information, but not really paying attention. The Headmaster had had a maniacal glint in his eyes as Harry had submitted, not by fear, but by boredom. Something was disturbing him, and pushing out with the Anti-Light, Harry felt some kind of pain as he neared the Headmaster. Like, the man's magic was able to push back on Harry somehow. Once he was done, Harry rolled his eyes and stood, leaving the room. The room had begun to suffocate him, and it was really bothering Harry, being in there. So, heading down to the hall, he saw that lunch was coming in about 45 minutes, so he took a seat.

However, within 5 minutes of sitting there, he no longer wanted to be there anymore. Something about being in the hall while it was empty seemed to send a kind of…sense of foreboding into Harry. He felt alone, and he felt some kind of guilt in him. And standing up, he headed into the Room of Requirement, thankful for the walk there, as he passed classrooms with the doors open, allowing him to _see_ that other people were alive and there, and that he was not, in fact, alone.

Arriving at the room, Harry filled the room with equipment, anything that would occupy his time. He lifted up a barbell, something he had seen in J-Roc's room, and began doing curls with it. He had a lot of anger, a lot of energy built up, and he needed to get it out in a way that would not hurt anyone else.

He went from curling to finding that all that inaction did was cause him to dwell on the words he was told, and how his life wasn't even in his own control. So, with a deep growl, he dropped the bar down on the ground in frustration, and watched as it hit the ground below him and shattered. He had required that. He had needed to see destruction, some proof that life was real. Thinking of needing some kind of dummy or something to beat the hell out of, a figure appeared before him. It was shaped like a person, and was made out of hard canvas with hard material on the inside. And looking to it, Harry proceeded to just hit it. Hit it again and again with memories flashing before his eyes, of times in his life when he felt helpless. When he was the scrawny little kid who would get beat up by Dudley.

When he was all alone in the cabinet.

When Vernon would degrade him and his parents in front of everyone they knew, and Harry couldn't say anything because he feared his uncle's reaction.

That morning when he had been so trapped and unable to do anything about it.

Soon Harry looked at the dummy to find the canvas was worn away in certain places, the interior spilling out on the floor near Harry's feet. He looked at his hands, to see the knuckles worn and his hands bleeding in certain areas. And as he looked at it, watched the blood slowly leave his hands, he sighed. It was almost like the old religions he had heard of in Primary about bleeding away the bad blood. That was how he saw it, his past pains leaving with the help of new pain.

Sighing again, Harry left the room, heading down to lunch, sure he was late. He forgot completely about wrapping his hands up or anything, as he headed down to be able to let his friends know of the developments, and to let Heather know he was alright. However, as he arrived at the table, he regretted not doing something to his hands. Because as he sat down at the table, Heather seeing him and letting out a breath, he reached over to grab tray nearest him for someone further down. And this put his hands on full display for Hermione, who was across from him. She gasped and grabbed his right hand, looking at the bruised and still slightly blood knuckles, before looking to him in question.

Not wanting to deal with a psyche analysis from his friend, he simply stated, "I had to beat on the door to get out, and I guess this is what happened before I was able to get out." He shrugged before starting to eat. As he did, Dumbledore stood from the Head table, causing everyone but Harry to glance up in interest at him. "Students, I have an announcement."

Harry sighed and muttered around his food, "Well no shit." Which caused Ron to choke on his food slightly before he began laughing, Heather to chuckle with a smirk on her face and Hermione to glare at him. Or more, attempt to, as she had had her own little giggle with the comment. Dumbledore allowed them a second to calm down, looking at Harry in interest. Harry raised his hand, intent on flipping the old man off, as the questioning look was bringing back feelings of deception in Harry, but Heather grabbed it in time and held it, both she and Hermione giving him a look that clearly told him that they would be having that conversation later.

"Well, it is time that I make known one of the many surprises for this year. It has been brought up that Talents have not been taught at this school in many years. In this…war-like…atmosphere, it has arisen that knowing your abilities can be very important.

"Now, a Talent is not as it sounds. It is something you are born able to do, and there is little that can be done about it after the fact. It is more an ability branded to your magic, and in a way, it shapes what kind of magic you are able to do and what you excel in. As…a metamorphagus, something that will not be taught indiscriminately as with the other Talents this year, would have little problem, magically, with Transfiguration. In theory. Now, these classes are going to be structured in such a way that they will all happen on one day. That day will be cleared on your schedules, so that all will be able to explore their Talents without having to give up their own time to develop.

"More information will be made available in the common rooms, and that is all, thank you." Some people applauded lightly before turning to their friends to discuss possible Talents and such. Purebloods looking the most blown away by this revelation. Ron looked flabbergasted, and when asked why, he looked confused for a moment.

"Talents where last taught at Hogwarts during the Great Goblin War. You see, they are usually taught in war atmospheres, as Talents are almost all undetectable by the ministry, so they are only taught when the need for them outweighs the risk of them being abused. And if they are being taught now…that means that…"

"This war is getting very bad." Hermione finished, deducing the truth. Harry nodded before remembering that he had Defense Against the Dark Arts class that day after lunch, and he had to still retrieve his things from his dorm. So, standing up, he headed toward the dorms. Heather made to follow him, but Hermione shook her head and ran after him.

She caught up to him in the hallway and grabbed his arm lightly, letting him, know she was there. He smiled at her slightly before continuing his walk at a lighter pace, allowing her to keep up. Once they got his things and were heading back from the room toward the Defense class, Hermione spoke.

"Harry…" here she sighed, "What is happening? I really don't understand what is going on in this world of ours. What is happening to us all?" and with another sigh, Harry turned to look a his friend to see a look on her face that unnerved him. Confusion. Loss. Pain.

"I do not know, Hermione. I have no idea. And that is something, considering I am the fucking weapon that is meant to end this war. I guess if they don't even consider me important enough to know what is happening, then that just proves my use. A weapon, nothing else."

Hermione looked mortified. "Don't say that!"

"But its true, Hermione!" And Harry finally felt the weight of the world fall down on him, finally felt all of the pain. And he had to fight back the tears. "Its…its so true. And I can't do it, Hermione! I am only 16, I can't stand this, I can't do it…Not when everyone around me is getting hurt."

And Hermione stood there, watching her best friend, the person she had seen stand firm and tall through everything, finally let his body a rest to show weakness. And it touched her to no end to be the one he did this in front of.

"I only have a few people anymore, Hermione, only a few people I trust and care about anymore, and I hate admitting that, since Cedric and…and Sirius, I have closed myself off. And…I don't want that. Because I don't want to admit this is hurting me. It is changing me. I…I am not the same person anymore. And…that will make…its going to change everything."

Hermione watched as his legs almost gave, and he sunk down to the ground of his own accord, at least before he was sent there by his shaking knees. His hair was surrounding his face, but from behind his hair, she could make out his eyes, bloodshot and unfocused. "Harry, no matter how much you change, the true friends will be there for you. Will care about you, love you. Hell, I can't speak for everyone, but I know that if you ran off to join Voldemort tomorrow, got your own little "Dark Mark" and started a reign of your own, I would be the first in line to take that mark, no matter where or how painful. And I would follow you into the pits of Hell. And I would use every spell I have ever read up on to do anything you ever ask me to."

Harry looked up to Hermione, who was kneeling across from him, her own eyes bloodshot, and tears gradually making their way along her cheeks. Her eyes were watching his, and from behind his hair, he looked to his friend. And he knew he would go to the ends of the earth for her as well, and knew that she was a true friend. He smiled weakly and hugged her. "I don't know what I would do without you Hermione." And he made to stand up. He pulled her up with him and then sighed loudly. "I don't know about all of this, but I know one thing. There is a lot of stuff happening, and I can only hope that all the people I care about who aren't here right now can be safe."

And hand in hand, supporting each other as they entered, the two entered the Defense classroom early, finding themselves the only ones there. That is, outside of who they figured was the Defense teacher, as well as the Headmaster. He was talking to the woman, so her back was to the entering students. She had very long black hair, and was wearing black robes, as was the norm. She seemed to be shaking slightly as Dumbledore spoke to her. Harry's ears perked as he heard his name being spoken several times in the conversation, until he cleared his throat, causing the Headmaster to recognize them. He smiled weakly before speaking. "Harry, I would like to introduce you, as well as Ms. Granger, to your Defense Against the Dark Arts Teacher for the year." And with that, the woman turned around. And in just that moment, Hell came to Hogwarts.

"You…" Harry muttered, before his emotions hit him to hard, that his mind blanked, and he stumbled back, back against the door, and he slumped down to be seated on the floor. There before him, in all her glory, was…

"Miss. Bellatrix Black. Please welcome her."

-

The class began with Dumbledore seated off to the corner near the door from the study connected to the classroom. It only took Harry moments to see that the man intended to make a "Grand Introduction" for the new teacher, as well as to head off any attacks that may come her way. And Harry had a feeling by the way the woman had rushed to his side, attempting to calm him with little bits of sentences between attempted petting and tears, that this class was going to be very hard for him. So, taking that into consideration, he did something he never did. He positioned himself in the very back of the classroom, in the back corner where the shadows of the midday sun cast by the light through the window seemed to blank him out from existence. And he settled in, ignoring the eyes of everyone on him, wishing to sink into the very castle, to disappear.

It was not to be.

And as class started, Harry watched as a spectator as the door opened and Bellatrix walked out, and he watched as Neville seemed to fall into a convulsive seizure, Ron jumped up with his wand out only to be stunned by the Headmaster, and several of the Pureblooded Slytherins looked as if they were in the presence of a deity.

And after a moment of calming, she spoke. "My name is Bellatrix Black, formerly Bellatrix Lestrange." Here the class gasped. "And I was raised by a pureblooded family that was very much against all things not solely magical. And this was how I was raised. And I regret to state that, hindsight is indeed, perfectly clear on later inspection. Because I see how those beliefs stayed with me, and how those beliefs influenced the rest of my life.

"When I was 16, I was engaged to a man, a very dark and horrible man. He was a confirmed Death Eater, but by then, my mind was so tainted that I didn't care. I hated muggles, sure, but had no wish to even be close enough to kill them to do so, and had no want to join the Death Eaters.

"On hearing this, that…monster of a man…he used the Imperius on me, renewed each time a new order was given, until they were layered on so deep that they were engrained into my very being. And for years I served the Dark Lord, reasoning lost on me as all I did was obey orders, obey what I thought was right, obey what I thought he wanted me to do. And even when he wasn't around, the spell had warped my personality. And acts were performed that I am forever ashamed of and plagued with every night."

Here she had the intelligence to at least look down, ashamed, saddened at the very least. Because had she not, Harry himself would have attacked her, watching Neville curl into himself even in his seat somehow, and slight shaking racking his shoulders. And as he looked up to Bellatrix, he saw the tears trailing down her face, he sighed despite himself. Something about her had changed, regardless of how much he wanted to deny it. "And soon, I was forcibly pulled from the multiple layers of the spell by a jolt of reality. I watched as my cousin, Sirius, was stunned by my own hand as I battled him as he attempted to take down the Dark Lord and myself, and he fell to his death. And soon the world was all too real again, no more blissful lack or reality, just the stone cold truth.

"So I came here, looking for sanctuary, looking for someone to keep me safe. And Dumbledore agreed to help me. After checking my thoughts somehow, he helped me to rid myself of some of the pain, and some of the spell damage that he could." Here she shook hr head a bit, as if to clear it before wiping her face and looking out to the classroom with determination on her face.

"I guess I am telling you all this so you know that am here. I know my stuff, considering all occurrences, and never again will I attempt to harm anyone, especially anyone in this classroom." And all around, the class nodded. Some nodded as if they had just had their world turned on its ear, while many of the same Slytherins that regarded her as a god looked as if their hero had just been unmasked for the fool that she really was. But still, there was a certain level of respect there.

"Now, onto the class. I am going to need a volunteer." No one seemed in a rush to volunteer, but when the offering of house points came, and the sheer number of them caused every hand to shoot up. Every one but Harry's and Neville's. And that was why what happened next seemed to justify Harry's guess that the class would suck for him. "How about…Mister Potter." And it wasn't a question or a suggestion.

Standing and walking to the front, Harry finally came face to face with Bellatrix. And she offered a weak smile before speaking to the class, never turning from him. "Now, a big issue since the start of term has been what is being called the 'Unspoken War', and that is what I intend to address to each of you. There is more to darkness, than what is defined as Dark Magic. And here, I will show you all." Harry tensed but turned to Bellatrix. "Ms. Granger, please come up here as well." Hermione stood and headed up, shaking a bit but looking firm in her resolve to get there and doing whatever she was told. She was positioned between Harry and Bellatrix.

"Do everything in your power to prevent Harry from getting to me." Was her only statement. And then Bellatrix blasted a pale pink curse at Harry.

Harry felt a feeling wash over him, a deep yearning to be near and with Bellatrix. And Hermione stood between him and his goal. So, walking toward her, intending to get to the woman on the other side of his friend, all thoughts vanished as all that mattered to him was getting to the beauty on her other side. And as Hermione raised her wand at him, he waved his wand with one hand, and the girl was blasted to the side of the room, unconscious as she slumped down the wall. And Harry continued his forward progress. Bellatrix waved her wand nonchalantly and made a motion for Harry to continue back to his seat. The motion was meant to end the spell, and by all appearances, it did. But there was a nagging feeling in the back of his mind that was drawing him to her even as his feet moved him from her.

Dumbledore had since attended to Hermione, who refused to leave for the hospital wing, and instead took a pain-relief potion she was offered and returned to her seat.

As he left, she spoke again, "and this clearly shows how even simple spells can be used with ill intent. Without contest, Ms. Granger is the closest of Harry's friends in this room?" and everyone looked to Ron, checking for him to raise a complaint. But as they did this, they saw that he was seated near the middle of the room, while Harry and Hermione were seated in the back together, and Hermione _never_ sat in the back. And with a nod of his head, everyone followed suit, as it was acknowledged as a fact. "And yet I, someone that is not on such close terms with him, was able to cause him to harm her with a simple spell." The class nodded, but Hermione looked to Harry.

Both had noticed it. Despite the fact that Bellatrix was addressing everyone so far by their surnames, she seemed to be having made a point to call him by his first name since the demonstration. And Harry looked up at her, and a glaze fell across his eyes.

_Something is wrong, that spell…its not all the way gone. Something is there._

**_Yeah Potter, something is up. Caliburn is correct in saying that she is pulling at you somehow. _**Necros replied, but then spoke with a laugh, **_Not that I care, because I would so do her._**

Harry rolled his eyes and then looked up to see Bellatrix going on about something or another about how a banishing charm and such could be used to kill someone, and how to combat it. But the combating it part seemed to come later, almost as an afterthought. Harry had a suspicion about her intentions, and it was confirmed when Dumbledore left, and she turned to the class after he left and sighed, sitting back on the desk and unbuttoning her robes to reveal moderate, albeit fairly tight, clothes underneath in understated colors.

"Look, they gave me this job figuring I could help you all somehow in learning how to defend against dark arts. But the truth is, that I wasn't a defender, I was an enforcer. I did the dark arts. And learning to do something by association is in no way a given."

"So what good is being in this class?" Hermione blurted before realizing she was saying a rude thing to a supposed ex-Death Eater with no one around to protect her really.

But the older woman chuckled despite it. "Simple. I was informed of a class or more…a club…called the D.A. lead by Harry last year. Well, I figure that, considering we have the legend himself here, we can make this something of a joint training area. We are at war, and thus, we are going to have to do more than sit on our asses and put up _Protegos_ all fucking day." Hermione's jaw dropped, as did many in the class. But Harry's liking for the woman just jumped from a notch above Voldemort to a notch above Dumbledore. And at the time, that wasn't a huge jump, but it was enough to make him to want to kill her most of the time.

…_Or was that the spell talking?_ He found himself wondering. Either way, he smiled, but was once again called up to the front of the classroom. He groaned and stood, walking to the front once more. He was forced to give a recount of what happened in the D.A., and then the students who had been in it and had opted for Advanced Defense that year, which was surprisingly fewer than he would have thought, were acknowledged. And then the class began, learning, or going over, basic attacking spells.

As the spells were practiced, Harry entered "Teaching Mode" and began going around the room, looking on and making adjustments and such. Sometimes, he would look and see Bellatrix watching him as she walked around as well. She would look away, and he would go back to what he was doing. Suddenly the air around him bent and he could _feel_ magic rocketing toward him. He had been near the door of the room, and the spell was coming at his side, meaning he could only dive forward to get away, and a student was in the way. His wand was up, but midway through the spell work for another, and no way to cast another spell in time, such as a shield.

So he did the only thing he could think of. He freaked out.

And suddenly a stone from the very castle shot out from the wall and intercepted the spell. And then the stone dropped to the ground, sizzling slightly, before it seemed to spring back into the air and fly back to its positioning in the wall. Bellatrix looked shocked, but smiled nonetheless. Harry would have probably cursed her or yelled or something, had he not been staring at the stone himself.

He had not done that.

And then he heard it. _The Voice._ _"Do you see what magic does? It taints, it destroys. It attacks. It causes pain, and it hurts oh so many people. It can be taken away. Its not that hard. Just give me the word._

Harry looked stunned and then looked as Bellatrix dismissed the class, and then called for him to come over to her. He did so in a daze, still in shock. But as he got closer to him, he could sense everything. The honey smell she emitted, and the violet of her eyes. The way her dark hair seemed to be some unnatural color somehow, black but tinged with a color he had never had the pleasure of seeing until then. The way the clothing under her robes clung to her…

And it was then that Necros grabbed ahold of his personality, and gave a strong mental shake. As much as he found Bellatrix incredibly attractive, and as much as he longed to be clichéd and sweep everything from the desk she was reclined on and take her there, he was still, above all, rational. And he knew for a fact that somehow the thoughts weren't his own.

Reaching out, he brushed his knuckles along her jaw line slowly, and then grabbed her chin. He held it, and made her look to him, and then he leaned in, so close that their noses almost touched, and her face was tickled lightly by his hair. He stuck his tongue out and licked her top lip, but as she moved to get closer to him, he pulled back.

And with a deep stare, he shook his head. She stared at him, somehow sensing the energy coming from him, how it seemed to make her so cold it burned and so hot she was numb all at the same time. And with a deep shake, she tried to avoid his eyes. But she could not.

"Its not nice to fuck around with other people's heads, Bella. Not nice at all. Next time, I might have to punish you, a spanking maybe." And with a smirk on his face, Necros/Harry turned and headed to the door. But he stopped before he got from the door. "Besides, if you wanted me that badly, you should have asked. Never know, depending on how you are, I could pull Heather into this somehow, and it could be fun for us all." And with a slamming open of the door, he was gone down the hall.

-

Harry found out that Padma had, in fact, gotten herself liberated from Remedial Transfiguration and moved to Moderate, which meant that she had a free period that day at the same time as his free period after Defense. He met with her and they sat down at the Ravenclaw table, talking over random things. However, Padma pulled out a stack of parchments, and Harry looked to her in confusion. They had been talking for a good 20 minutes, when her eyes lit up at his mention of the D.A., and not he was wondering what was happening.

"Harry, I found some things out. Things that I think you need to know." And she looked at him with a big smile on her face. "I was going through the Ravenclaw library, when I came on a book. Cho tried to take it from me, but I got through a good half of it before she grabbed it." Harry scowled at the sneakiness of the girl he had once cared for, but motioned for Padma to continue. "Now, Luna could make better heads and tails of this than I could, but basically, here it states in this really complicated Arithmancy, that the _Avada Kedavra_ curse is nothing more than pure magic. In this theorem, magic in its truest form, is destructive. Nothing more, and nothing less. It is destruction.

"And this is the purest way to allow magic out. It almost seems as if, by doing this, the person allows the magic no restrictions. Which is why it is so hard to stay alive after being hit by it."

"Restrictions?"

"Yes. You see, the book stated that the structure of magic is destruction. Every spell destroys a little of something to produce the desired results. Now, with say…_Wingardium Leviosa_, the spell's destructive property is aimed toward severing the tie gravity has on the object in question. Now, this is causing the power the spell would have to be aimed only at one point, therefore creating a bottleneck effect, making the power ease out gradually and not in one big burst, which is why it is a sustained spell. With the Killing Curse, however, the magic just fires out, pure and uncontained."

Harry looked at Padma, as she continued to detail what Magic was and how, in fact, the Killing Curse could not be blocked by magical means. Now, this left Harry with a dilemma to think over, as his plans seemed to be falling apart at the seems. However, Padma uttered the words he had been hoping for since the conversation began. "But…" And his ears perked as he moved from looking over the stack of parchment.

"However, the magic issue is one that we needn't worry about. Because the magic that I speak of is, in fact, only one type of magic. The magic we use, is only one type of magic. And the secret to stopping the Killing Curse…is going to have to be finding more out about them.

"And I will be damned if I am not the one there when you figure this out. Because I have this very awkward feeling that…you will be forced to figure this out long before the rest of us."

-

Alchemy. The closest thing to fusing magic and science ever thought up, is a simple belief. Human Kind can not achieve without first giving something up. The ingredients must equal the result. And this is Alchemy's First Law of Equivalent Exchange. The most basic rule in Alchemy.

It is a long standing belief that, should someone give up enough, they could, in turn, gain anything they could think of. And that was mainly the reason Alchemy lapsed into a dark science, never to be put in reasonable Wizarding institutions. Because Wizards are lazy. And why give something up in exchange for the result, when they can wave a stick around with enough destructive energy in it to kill half the world, and get whatever they want? Why give up to gain, when you can just blast what you want into your own hands?

But at the same time, Alchemy is a science much stronger than magic could ever be. Because in truth, the wands Wizards value oh-so-very-much are just that, products of Alchemy. Because it is impossible to create something with such destructive force…

…without giving something up first.

And Harry sat on his bed, staring at his wand in his hand. Something so powerfully fickle linked him to Voldemort on yet another plane. And as long as he had this, he would be unable to defeat Voldemort, to even touch him. And he knew that Dumbledore would not let him get a new wand, because the manipulative man needed Harry to be the shield to hold Voldemort's attention, to draw the fire, so that the world could be safe, if for those few moments.

And he would not be anyone's cannon fodder.

And he decided that it was time he did something, so he went into the Restricted Section and found every book on Alchemy he could. And every spare moment he had between classes, he was reading. And writing down. Because as much as Alchemy was magic,

It was science.

And begrudgingly, Harry asked to be placed in Remedial Ancient Runes. And he obtained the book and read it cover to cover as if his life depended on it. And the more he thought about it, the more he realized,

It did.

-

By the time that Heather began wondering if something was wrong, and Hermione knew something wasn't right, it seemed to be too late. They both ran up to his room to find him standing there, the furniture cleared out, and a huge circle in the center of his room.

There were various designs within it, and it had an unearthly glow about it. Piled in the middle of the circle and all its designs seemed to be a piles of chairs and other metals. And then, in a white ceramic bowl in the very middle, was a deep substance.

And as Harry sank to his knees, his overly pale form looking weaker than before, the drop in weight caused the bowl to rock just so. Just enough so that the moonlight glinted through the window and off of the bowl. And revealed that the liquid was, in fact, not black.

It was a deep red.

Blood.

And with his hands glowing in the Anti-Light, the very air visibly warping around his body, he clasped his hands together in prayer-like fashion, closed his eyes, muttered something and then slammed his hands down on the side of the circle. And with a rush of force much akin to water, the energy seemed to flow in a wave around the circle and flare up to the ceiling of the room. And a duplicate of the circle appeared on the very roof of the room. And when the energy died down, Harry slumped to lay on his back, his eyes opened but staring vacantly forward, glazed over.

And in the center of the circle laid a single object. It was about 13 inches long, thin and darker than the very night sky. The tip was a blood red, and it pulsed energy.

Harry Potter had just created a wand. And it was unlike anything anyone would ever see again. Because it was made by a power never before used with magic. And the castle shook in recognition, and seemed to come alive all over again.

Much like a kingdom, rejoicing in the return of its King.

-

Harry sat up moments later, his eyes still a bit eerily reflective, but focused enough to allow him to stand and regain his balance. He walked over to the center of the circle and lifted the wand, and carried it over to a plain box. He placed it inside, before locking it shut. He walked over to a small, loose stone in the wall and removed it, before placing the box inside where the stone had been, and then he cast a charm with his first wand to hide the box and make it look like a normal stone.

Then, climbing into his bed, which was along the wall, he sank to a deep sleep.

But it did not last. Dumbledore entered later, followed by what seemed to be the entire Order. They all looked at him and began shouting questions at him all at once. And they all sat there, watching as he attempting to ignore them. And all night, they watched him. Many times, Heather and Hermione asked them to leave, as he was not sleeping fitfully, as every time he would drift off, Molly Weasley would say something or attempt to mother him or someone else in the order would say something, and he would end up awake again.

But still they stayed. And the desired result arose, as Harry eventually arose, narrowed his eyes at them, and grabbed his pillow before turning and walking away from his own room, out to the couch in the Head Common, and placed a reverse silencing spell around him, and then he curled up and fell asleep, with one last glare at the still watching Order.

-

Harry was mad. In fact, he was so angry that the windows and mirrors all around him were exploding, and the shards would shatter and eventually it was all some kind of powder before it hit the ground. He was angry, and he hadn't a single reason in truth. It just felt…right to be mad. And as he thought about it, he had more reason to be mad than anyone. But again, the voice came to him, telling him the same thing again and again. Shaking his head, he stepped from the Room of Requirement to head down to Dinner. As he entered, he saw Hedwig doing laps around the ceiling of the hall. Upon him entering, she swooped down to him with a copy of the Daily Prophet. It seemed to be thin, and had bright red ribbon wrapping it closed, meaning it was apparently urgent.

**Attack on England: Town of Surrey Raided!**

_It would appear that Death Eaters have been making a clear and straight path through England, and their latest stop has been the town of Surrey. The attack heralded few casualties, as the Aurors seemed to have reacted to the attack faster than anywhere else, almost as if on guard for that location already._

_Sources tell us that they had found the pattern some time before, and had stationed their beforehand, and some Death Eaters were apprehended, but were assured to be lower-ranking members of little use to authorities._

And the paper slipped from his fingers, and he sank down to the ground, and just sat there, no tears or anything, just solemn silence. And he was quiet for some time, staring forward.

And putting his head back, and staring at the ceiling in complete weakness, he muttered two words. "I'm Ready." And with a shaking of the castle, and a warping of the world around him, he lost all consciousness.

-

_Harry…_

…_Harry…_

"Harry!" And Harry's eyes sprang open to meet the eyes of Heather. He looked up at her, and reached up to rub his eyes. He scooted back so he was propped up against the headboard of the bed he was apparently in. He looked down, expecting to see the crisp white sheets of the hospital wing, but instead he was surrounded by a cool deep blue bedspread. Heather smiled at him before moving off of him to sit next to him. She brushed her hand through his hair before speaking. "Its time that you get your lazy ass up. We have a lot to do today, and with you laying around, I really doubt anything will get accomplished." Sighing, Harry rolled out of bed, wondering where he was exactly.

"And what, exactly, do we have to do today?"

"You have band practice with J, then you have to meet Kirstin later at the mall because she said something about wanting to piss off an old boyfriend by rubbing you in his face…umm…then we have dinner with the parents tonight before its back here. It's a good thing for us that the school got shut down for the week because that ass of an ex of mine had to go and light the bathrooms on fire because he was smoking."

Harry cocked an eyebrow before standing up and looking around his room. He spotted a towel next to some clothes set out already. He grabbed them before heading out of the room, and after looking around for a while, he somehow knew where the bathroom was exactly, even though he was somewhere he had never been before.

Entering, he turned on the warm water and began to take a shower. After a while, he got out and dried off before catching his reflection in the mirror. His long black hair was hanging over his shoulders, and his bright green eyes were looking back at him. But one thing that caused Harry's eyes to bug was what he saw as he brushed his hair back with his hand. The infamous scar…

…was missing.

And as he walked out of the bathroom after he dressed, intent on finding out what was going on, he saw something that was even more frightening than his lack of his scar.

You see, as he headed down the stairs after finding that Heather was not in his room any longer, he heard talking. And as he entered the kitchen, laughter filled his ears. But it was soon a triviality, as, sitting there, laughing with his girlfriend was…

"Mum?"

-

A/N: And with the tears in my eyes, we must say goodbye. Unless I get people asking for me to continue, this will be the end of SoH. My other project, FFOmega is taking over pretty much all of my writing, and will be my key project, even if I have to make it AU or alter it to fit the whole Half Blood Prince shyte. But, thus, this could be then end. Even as I leave you all of this cliffhanger, there is nothing left to say but thank you to you all.

By the way, the name of my group is Demonic Reign, and it is:

http:groups. /group/ DemonicReign/ (minus the spaces) and I hope that you all will visit.  
Let me know about the future of the fic and all.  
Thanks so much, again,  
(A Very Depressed and Sad,)

TK


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